Controlling Your Budget

 

If you are finding yourself in some kind of financial difficulties and considering applying for a loan of any type, then it can benefit you to look at setting a household budget and actually work out where your current money is going and whether or not you are wasting cash. By doing this, you can then have a far more accurate idea as to how much money you actually need to borrow due to having a better understanding of your current cash flow.

One of the main things that you need to remember when it comes to dealing with your budget is being completely honest on where your money is being spent and the first thing you need to do is look at drawing up two columns in order to split up those things that are necessities and those that are luxuries. This will then allow you to see how your income is being split up and it makes it so much easier to decide on the things that really do need to go to save you money.

Clearly things that keep a roof over your head, your house lit and warm, medical care, insurances and food are essentials and you must make sure that they are covered when it comes to setting your budget. Look at the money you bring in and see the percentage that is spent on those things alone in order to determine the kind of luxuries you can then perhaps afford.

The main luxuries will tend to involve owning some kind of vehicle as well as having a good television subscription, but cutting back on things does not have to mean losing them completely. Instead, look at getting a lower type of insurance, reduce the size of your television subscription, eat out less and a whole host of other things that you have perhaps been taking for granted lately. By cutting back you can save yourself a reasonable sum of money each month and this can make a huge difference on the stress you are feeling when it comes to paying those essential bills.
So how does this change things when it comes to applying for a loan? The answer to this is two-fold, as it will let you see that you can indeed afford those repayments without stressing about it as well as letting you see exactly how much money you need to apply for. Keeping a firm grip on your income and expenditure will, therefore, help stop you from applying for too much and lowers the chance of running into debt problems that can have pretty serious consequences further down the line.

Setting a household budget can be as easy as you want it to be, but do be prepared to make some tough decisions as to what things perhaps need to go in order to reduce your expenses on a weekly or monthly basis. Knowing where your money is going is essential if you want to borrow some because at least then you know that you can keep up with those repayments each month due to the money you are already saving elsewhere.

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Personal Loans

 

Learn more about SFA (Simple, Fair, Affordable) Personal Loans

When it comes to personal loans they are a type of loan that can easily be obtained by anyone as long as they can prove they have a form of income and meet the age requirements as well. Usually, the money needs to be paid within a month after the lending process has been over with and the interest rates are quite high. To get approval credit checks are also not a requirement, so SFA (Simple, Fair, Affordable) Personal Loans are fairly easy to get and hurdle free.

Individuals who experience a cash crunch can easily delve into getting one such type of loan, yet there is also a word of caution. Borrowers who are inexperienced might abuse this type of loan and in the end get to lose more money than they can afford paying back, through interest rates. Depending on where the money is loaned from, the APR can go from three hundred percent to six hundred percent.

It’s not that such loans are bad and they should never be considered, but the fact is they can easily get out of control. Even though their contribution to someone’s financial need is undoubted, there is always the risk of things getting out of control.

Below there are seven tips that people interested in such loans should be mindful of:

1. The borrower always gets a sum lower than the amount written on the check, because the amount is subjected to fees ranging from fifteen to fifty dollars per one hundred dollars.

2. In case the borrower cannot repay the money in time, he’ll be encouraged by the lender to renew the loan. It’s a risky thing to do, so it’s advised to refuse such temptations.

3. State regulations can cover for these types of loans but they require the loan term limit to be set at thirty days. Lenders trick the system and set the amount to thirty one days, so the borrower will depend on the lender.

4. Such loans should be considered only in emergencies. Even if in the beginning this seems like a cheap option to get fast cash, borrowers might in the end let their loans pile up and in the end face the harsh reality of having very high fees to pay.

5. The SFA (Simple, Fair, Affordable) Personal Loans are usually aimed at people with a low income. The lenders have no idea that they could easily have problems in paying the money back and thus even be persuaded to apply for a new loan and get deeper into the pit.

6. There are some loan websites out there that will automatically have a loan “rolled over” and then have the renewal fee withdrawn on the due date. Even if it sounds crazy, some websites will also require the borrowers to sign a contract in which they stipulate that no legal actions will be taken against the lenders and that they won’t file bankruptcy. These are all aimed to protect the lender.

7. Lastly, it’s pretty easy to get used to these loans, so anyone should be careful on how and when they contract them. It’s best though that they’re left as a last resort in emergency cases.

Getting SFA (Simple, Fair, Affordable) Personal Loans is rather easy but everyone should be well informed before contracting one. There are potential risks that can really knock people off financially and they should be carefully analyzed before proceeding further with the loan.

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Using Personal Loans

 

Making wise decisions when it comes to taking out personal loans is very important. Many times in life we need some extra cash to help us through difficult financial times. Using a personal loan to help through these situations can be the solution. You just have to make sure that you are using the money wisely.

If you take the time to assess your finances you may realize that you are paying quite a bit on interest rates, especially from your credit cards. If you take out a personal loan for a certain situation, you may find it beneficial to borrow more than you need for your crisis and use the extra money to pay off high balance credit cards. If you have a lower rate on the personal loan, then it’s a no brainer. You will be saving money right off the bat.

I am not suggesting that you borrow more money than you need, but if you take the time to compare the interest rates then you may see the advantage. Once you have borrowed the money, make sure it is used for its intended purpose. Many times people feel like they are rich once they get a sizable amount of cash into their bank accounts and spend the money foolishly. If you can’t afford something that you were wanting, having that money can make you feel like you can afford it now. The honest truth is that you can afford that luxury item even less, now that you have an additional loan.

Many people find it easier to pay one bill per month instead of several different ones from different credit card companies. It can be very time consuming to go through each different credit card and pay all of the bills. Using a personal loan to consolidate your bills can make life a little easier. Just remember that because you have paid off your credit cards, you still in essence don’t have the money to use them. You are still in debt due to the personal loan. You can’t start spending on those cards until that loan debt is paid or you find yourself in a world of trouble.

Being smart about managing loans can really help out in the long run. Using your money to its full advantage can not only save you money, but it can actually make you money. Purchase wisely and borrow even wiser.

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Loans for Car Repairs

 

Many people have to use personal loans to make repairs to their cars, trucks or SUV’s. When thing go wrong with your vehicle and the warrantee has expired, it can cost you quite a bit of money to repair. When you are purchasing a used car it is usually wise to purchase an extended warrantee to protect yourself from costly repairs, just read the fine print and make sure that there are no loop holes in the contract and that you will get the most protection for you dollar.

Using a personal loan for auto repairs is a common practice, but you do not want to be throwing away your hard earned money for repairs that could have been avoided. Preventive maintenance is a good way to keep your vehicle in tip top shape. Many newer vehicles do not require that you change your oil every three thousand miles as most people do. It definitely will not hurt your vehicle, but you can actually go between seven and ten thousand miles without an oil change. This can add up to a significant amount in savings over the life of the ownership of your vehicle. If you have the know how to change your own oil, it could be a little more expensive, but will save you time in the long run.

If you have some mechanical prowess doing your own repairs can definitely save you money, but just make sure you are not getting in over your head. Repairs by the do it yourself are manageable on older model cars, but newer models require specialty tools and knowledge to work on them. If you are not sure what you are doing with a repair, it is much better to have a professional do it rather than risking getting into the project and realizing that you have just wasted time and money only to have to have your vehicle towed to the local shop.

Taking out a personal loan for a vehicle repair is common practice when it is necessary, just make sure that you are not putting too much into the vehicle. Make sure the repairs are worth the cost. If you can keep your car in tip top shape then you can keep it running for 150,000 – 200,000 miles which is much better than buying a newer car every few years. A little preventative maintenance goes along way in the life of your car.

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Taking Out Loans

 

You might want to start thinking about other ways to get the cash you need right away than always going to the bank to get a loan.  The difference between getting a loan at the bank or a non-traditional method could be hundreds of dollars in interest payments and bank fees.  It doesn’t mean that every loan that you take out in life can’t come from the bank, there will be many times when the bank has exactly what you want and the fees are not too bad.  For the more tradition lending like home mortgages and auto loans, the bank probably has a program to suit your needs.

When you need money to go on vacation, pay for a wedding or buy the essentials to further advance your education, there are ways to get the money without having to hassle with a bank.  For one, you could take out a personal loan from a smaller lender.  These types of loans are normally short term and have higher interest rates.  The point of these loans is to pay them off as quickly as possible, most of the time in two years or less.  This will actually help save you money in the long run as opposed to a bank loan which may have a lower interest rate but a longer term.

Credit cards are used when you have a big purchase to make and do not have the cash to cover the expenses like an addition to a house or the purchase of a vacation home.  You can put the purchase on the credit card and pay it off on your terms, as long as you cover the minimum payment.  Most credit card companies have a card specifically for this and have lower introductory interest rates as an incentive to use their card.

Cash advance places can get you a loan in just a couple of hours if you have all of your paperwork in order and meet the criteria.  Mostly these cash advance loans are for unexpected medical bills that can pop up from time to time or a one-time event like a weekend concert with your buddies.  In either case, the point is to get the money to pay the bill now and have a small chunk of your earnings taken right out of your paycheck for a couple of months.

The one thing that you must realize when getting a loan from a bank or any other source, you have to know there is some risk involved.  The benefits of getting the money you need right away come with the responsibility of paying back your lender as quickly as you can without negatively affecting your life.  If you know right away how much money you need and how much you can afford to pay back, you are on the right track.

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Taking Loans for Bills

Is it wise to use a personal loan to pay your typical monthly bills? The best practice is not to do so, but in these trying economic times, this may be your only choice. If you are faced with this decision, then you have probably had a drastic change in your income level, or you have not planned accordingly with the bills that you have.

If your household income has been affected by a layoff or a cut in hours then this may have been an unforeseeable misfortune and you have not had the proper time to adjust your lifestyle in accordance with the lower income level. The question you must answer is how you are going to be able to pay for the added monthly bill of a loan payment. Taking out a personal loan may get you through a few months of bills, but you must act in accordance with the fact that you can no longer afford what you have been used to. The personal loan will buy you some time to help you get through these difficult times, but cutting back on your monthly expenses is the only way you will effectively be able to overcome this problem

Most people feel that they will be able to use a loan to get them out of this jam, but finding a new job or supplemental income is taking people longer than they have imagined. If you do not adjust your lifestyle to accommodate your lower income, you will find yourself in much more financial trouble after the loan has been spent. You really have to take a hard look at what is absolutely necessary and what could be considered a luxury. Downgrading your vehicle to something more affordable is a good place to start.

Now, if you are not affected by a job loss and still need a loan to help with bills, then you are living beyond your means. Sometimes emergency things come up in life and you have to spend money on things that you were ready for. This is totally understandable and a personal loan can be a big help if this is your situation, but if you are just letting your monthly expenses get away from you, then it is time to take a hard look at what you are spending your money on. No more nightly dinners out and shopping sprees that break the bank. You have to be wise and spend the money that you have, not the money you can borrow.

 

 

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Wise Loans

Just look at the fascination and the need for personal loans.  Why can’t we get by with the money that we make and only buy things when we really can afford  to buy them?  Our country has been overwhelmed with the desire to buy and buy and never really be able to afford what we are consuming.  How many people out there have to have the latest phone and the fastest service and get McDonald’s on the way home and have to pay with a credit card because they have no cash.

Of course there are those in need of money right away, like getting out of jail or having a medical procedure, and then it is okay to use the loan.  You can’t be expected to always have enough to cover every situation, but ensure you take the precautions to not allow your cycle of getting loans to continue.  Take charge of your money because it is the one thing you do not want to be worrying about when you are 60.  Taking charge of your money is like taking charge of your whole life.  You should not be restricted from doing stuff with your family, taking romantic trips with your wife, getting that new car or buying that first house just because of money.

Think of how wonderful it would be to be able to go with your friends on that 5 day cruise, take the family to a few ball games, buy a new car, long weekend at the beach and whatever else you wanted to do during the year without having to put anything on credit cards or loans.  Financial freedom at last!  But somewhere along the way, we have decided as a society that it is okay to owe a bunch of money in order to have a nice car and house and nice things.  We need to change our way of thinking to overcome our desires to borrow money over and over.

It isn’t easy to make the change but it will all be worth it in the end.  Taking more time with your family at home to avoid the coffeehouse trap will make a big difference in your wallet and your peace of mind.  A lot of the money saving tips we have learned and all of the blunders we have made with our money needs to be passed on to our children warning them of the dangers of borrowing money and overspending.

 

 

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Buying a Used Car

It’s that time where you are in need of a new or newer vehicle. You current mode of transportation has been good to you in the past, but it’s just costing too much in repairs or just isn’t as reliable as it used to be.  This situation happens thousands of times across the country every day. The problem is that you don’t have the money to buy a newer car. Let’s take a look at obtaining a personal loan or going to a buy here pay here car dealership.

Buy here pay here dealerships can be a good choice for many people that need to get into something fairly quickly. It can be a good alternative to taking out a loan in some cases. Usually people that do not have good credit can benefit from this situation. Most buy here pay here car dealers will not even run a credit score on their customers and require a small amount of money down on the purchased vehicle. One problem is that their inventory tends to be a bit on the older side. You usually do not have access to later models and you could end up swapping out your older paid off car for a car that you now owe money on and still has some problems.

Another instance with these types of dealerships is the amount of money you are actually paying for the vehicle. They will charge you quite a bit more money than the car or truck is actually worth. They know that you may be in a desperate situation and they have the upper hand. You could be paying 20%-25% more than the vehicle is valued at just to able to use their easy, no credit check method of getting you into a car.

Another problem is that they take “low” weekly payments. This sounds enticing at first. When you are trying to figure out your payments and they present a low weekly payment of $75.00 this sounds like you should have no problem making that payment. Who can’t afford $75.00 a week? Well, a lot of people can’t afford that payment. That’s a $300.00 per month payment. You can buy a brand new Mercedes for that amount of money. Add on your car insurance and you end up with a hefty car bill each month.

Taking out a personal loan gives you many advantages when it comes to buying a used car. The dealership will haggle the price down quite a bit because you are essentially paying them cash at the deals end. You will also gain a positive credit score when the loan is paid off. At the buy here pay here places, you can only achieve a negative score if default on your payments, they usually don’t report to the credit agencies.

Just be weary of a deal that sounds too good to be true. If you can obtain a personal loan for your newer car, then take it. It’s easier to afford and will actually save you money in the whole scheme of things.

Using a Personal Loan for a Vacation

Taking your dream vacation is one of the best parts of life. Enjoying exotic places and doing things that you never dreamed of can be a costly venture and many of us cannot afford vacations in our budgets. Taking a personal loan to fund your vacation could be a good solution to this problem.

If you are a frugal traveler than you may be aware of web sites such as Travelzoo.com. These web sites offer tremendous deals for vacations that you may never have dreamed of going on or thought you could never afford them. The only problem with these deals is that they are usually offered on short notice to fill gaps or missing reservations in the travel industry. They also require full payment up front. In order to be able to take advantage of these deals you have to have the cash on hand or possibly max out your credit card.

By using a personal loan to finance your vacation, you have the ability to take advantage of the deals that these web sites are offering. Obtaining the loan and then searching for these incredible deals can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. This is also an easier way to keep your finances in better ordeal by being able to pay off your vacation over a longer period of time.

Now, usually the notion is that if you can’t afford to take a vacation then you just do not do it. Using the personal loan to bankroll your vacation could be the solution to this problem. Your personal loan shouldn’t be all that huge if you are trying to take advantage of these bargain deals found on the internet, so you should not be paying it off over a large period of time.

If you get a good interest rate you should be able to afford to take a very nice vacation every year and just be able to pay for that trip over the course of a year or two. Not only do you get that dream getaway, but you are also improving your credit score. Using a personal loan could be a great way to allow you to take these voyages that always have wanted to take.

Just be smart before you decide to use this option. If you cannot afford to pay off the loan within two years then you may be the person that cannot afford the vacation in the first place. Remember that life is short, enjoy it while you can, but be financially wise while you are doing it.

Paying Off High Interest Rates

Is it a good idea to take out a loan to pay off other loans? If you have the intentions of paying off a higher interest rate loan with one that you can obtain with a lower interest rate than the answer is yes. You must make sure that there will not be any penalties for paying the first loan off early to make it cost effective.

When you took out the first loan there are conditions that you are going to want to review before you pay off the balance. Many companies will charge penalties for paying off the loan before the terms of the loan end. This insures that they will be making the money on the interest of the loan that they expected to make. If you have this clause tied to your original loan than you must make sure that you will actually be saving money by paying it off with another loan at a lower interest rate.

If you do not have the clause tied to the original loan then it is definitely a good choice to obtain the loan with the lower interest rate. You just have to make sure that you use that money for that purpose and don’t end up carrying to loans when you only intended on having one. This will also help your credit rating as the first loan has been paid off, but you still are developing credit by having the second loan still outstanding.

This is also common practice when it comes to credit cards. There are always offers to transfer balances from one credit card with a higher interest rate to another with a lower one or even no interest for a small amount of time. Be sure there are no transfer fees tied to this action or you may be paying more in the long run. Also make sure that you can pay off the balance on the card before your initial lower interest rate expires, usually a year. Otherwise you may not be saving any money.

Transferring balances and paying off loans can be a smart way to save money and build some credit history. When you transfer credit card balances, make sure you do not cancel the first credit card as long as it does not have an annual fee. Keeping the account open will build your credit; just make sure you don’t use the card unless you absolutely have to. Lower interest rates are the way to go, just make sure you are saving money in the long run.

 

 

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