Posts Tagged ‘repayment’
I was having this conversation with a business coach colleague yesterday. She deals with a lot of business owners, especially those starting out and those experiencing rapid growth. She’d been doing some research and one article she read suggested that a major reason that businesses fail is because of a lack of capital. This got me thinking about how people fund their ventures and whether they need a lot of capital to start their own business.
To be honest this really depends. If you are a product based business obviously you will need capital to invest in product but, if you were to start a service based business, you can often times get your business started with little or no investment plus time. You will need some capital though and there are some options available to you:
Friends and Family- Many people look to family and friends to fund their business ventures, especially if the funding required is small. Family and friends will generally offer you generous repayment terms on your business loan but make sure everything is done professionally. You don’t want to ruin relationships with friends and family for the sake of a few dollars. Also, if you get money from family and friends, make sure you allow them to share in your business successes.
Business Credit Cards- Business credit cards are another popular option that people look at when they aim to grow their business. Business credit cards can help with cash flow and, if you pick the right card, you can sign up to a rewards program and get points that can be redeemed for flights, accommodation or a variety of other rewards that may be useful to you. These rewards can be a pleasant little bonus for all of your hard work.
Investors- If your business idea is groundbreaking, or if your business plan is solid, you may be able to pitch to investors and get some investment in your company. If you expect rapid growth or you have a ground breaking product, then this may be the option for you. The problem with investors is that you may lose some of your decision making power as you give away part of your business to an investor.
At the end of the day, the most important factors for business success are clearly defined goals, the dedication to achieve them and then a marketing plan that will get your business in front of people. If you do need business finance there are options available to you. I have outlined three of these above.
Whether as a business user or a consumer, choosing the right credit card can be extremely confusing. There are so many options out there and it may be hard to work out which one is best for you. I’m a firm believer in people getting a credit card as soon as they can, as long as it is used properly. If they are regularly paid off, it can do wonders for your credit rating, making it easier to get a home loan or car loan.
The purpose of this article is to help you wade through the confusion and find out which card is best for you if you are only going to use it minimally and in emergencies.
Those credit cards with the best reward offers- If you are only a small user, and you will pay your credit card off each month, then the interest rate on the card you choose should not be too much of a concern. You should look at what other opportunities and offers you can receive for signing up to a credit card- this could be that they have the best rewards program for your life or it could be that a particular credit card offers you discounts or special offers at stores where you often purchase goods. This would be more useful to you.
Those cards with a small limit- You don’t need a big limit on your card if you are only a small user, otherwise the temptation may become too high and you may decide to live beyond your means and purchase things that you do not need. There is nothing wrong with running up the entire limit each month as long as you pay it off at the end of the month. Don’t get a big credit limit unless there is a reason for it and you can afford to easily pay it off each month.
Those cards with the longest repayment period- Male sure you pick a credit card with a long interest free period and leave paying the bill until the last minute. Why pay things back early if you can keep your money in your own pocket? If it is at all possible you want to avoid paying any interest payments.
There are hundreds of options for you when it comes to picking the right card for your personal circumstances. Following the tips that I have mentioned above may enable you to make better choices more easily.
Credit cards for bad credit are one of the best methods available to overcome your financial black marks. Having a poor score for whatever reasons can be a serious problem for individuals trying to re-gain financial stability and secure loans for mortgages or other long term financial investments. Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK suffer from negative credit ratings with 6% of the population having to make rent or mortgage payments using these cards in 2010 alone. The average UK adult has over 30 thousand pounds of unpaid debt and more than four million people missed a monthly card payment in 2010. With such dramatic figures it is not surprising that more than 10% of the adult UK population has some form of bad credit rating in their financial history. The good news is that there are credit cards for that are specifically designed to help those with poor credit ratings get back financial stability.
A poor credit history is likely to prevent individuals from getting most unsecured loans, credit cards and also will often prevent an individual from successfully applying for a mortgage. Due to the recession increasing the cost of living, prepay cards for bad credit are becoming increasingly prevalent as a means to repair ratings as they offer a number of advantages in building credit history.
Credit cards for poor scores are the best way to repair credit ratings, provided you keep up with the payments, as they show that individuals have regained control of their finances and are exercising good financial monitoring on a regular basis. There are of course downsides to using cards for bad credit which will become apparent as we discuss the pros and cons of these cards.
The advantages of credit cards for bad credit
The key advantage of cards that aim to improve your rating is that you can show a financial stability history to future creditors. This allows you to slowly improve your reputation over the course of months, or years, if you have a particularly bad credit rating to begin with. Gaining a good repayment reputation will encourage creditors to trust you with in the future and therefore you are much more likely to receive mortgages and other unsecured loans.
Other advantages of cards aimed at those with poor credit history are that they are essentially the same as those for normal cards. You get the freedom to make payments immediately for purchases and bills, and get to spend money you otherwise wouldn’t have. In this respect cards for bad credit work in much the same way to normal credit cards.
The disadvantages of credit cards for poor credit history
Cards for poor credit obviously come with severe disadvantages as the companies providing them must secure debt against the risks of non-payment that bad credit entails. For this reason cards for lower scoring citizens will typically have a very high APR (Annual Percentage Rate). The average rate is typically over 20% so if for any reason you fail to make a payment you need to be prepared for a large additional fee. The other disadvantages are that you typically do not receive any of the benefits that other cards offer which takes away some of the advantages of having a credit card.
So should I use credit cards for bad credit?
Cards for bad credit are one of the easiest ways to absolve yourself of bad credit so should consider applying for one if you are secure in your current finances and will predominantly be using it as a means to improve your credit rating; rather than as a means to support yourself or cover unpaid bills.
Looking for bankruptcy? Don’t go for it! Instead, keep bankruptcy as your last option and try out the other options which are available in the market. There are a few debt relief options to consider. The best 3 are mentioned below with brief explanations for each one of them.
Do it yourself – debt management:
This method involves arrangement of the credit cards or other personal unsecured loans in an order. The order will be a descending one with loans having high interest rates getting top priority and then followed by the ones with lower interest rates. In this method, you will have to create a new budget in which, you will have to eliminate some of the unnecessary expenses and then save some extra money. Pool this money with the amount out of your paycheck that you keep aside for loan repayment and start repayments with the one, which has the highest interest rates. This helps in containing the debt due to faster accrual of interests.
Professional or self arbitration – debt settlement:
In the method of settlement, you will have to negotiate with the creditor on your own or you will need to use professional help for doing the same. In either case, the process converges to push the creditor to eliminate the debt by a certain percentage. The amount not forgiven is to be paid in lump sum to the creditor. To force the creditor to eliminate at least 50% of the dues, the use of the bankruptcy threat is essential. Once the remainder is paid, the consumer will get a clean cheat and the debt will be considered as paid in full.
Reducing monthly installments – debt consolidation:
In this method, negotiation with the creditor is carried out by a professional negotiator who negotiates for the reduction in the interest rates and elimination of associated costs like insurance charges, over limit fees, late fees and other. The threat of bankruptcy is used to force the creditors to agree to the above conditions. When the creditors agree, they re-amortize the loans and then the monthly installment burden for the consumer is reduced significantly.
The above mentioned three methods ensure that the credit score of the consumers remain unharmed and that the consumers get back their financial stability and get out of their debts asap. This is not possible in case of bankruptcy filing because, once the consumers go for bankruptcy, the FICO score will be lost completely. This brings in more financial troubles for the consumers. Hence, personal bankruptcy should be avoided.
If you want a financial assistance without any burden of repayment, you should go for installment loans for bad credit. With the help of this financial scheme, you can get fast cash to solve all your financial problems. These loans are capable of providing you monetary help when there is shortage of funds in completing a demand. Through these funds, you can fulfil short-term needs like paying off previous debts, credit card dues, medical bills, electricity bills, etc.
Through installment loans for bad credit , you can avail the amount ranging from $100 to $1500. You can repay the loan amount either in monthly or bi-weekly instalments. You can choose either of them according to your preference. Do not fear about the rejection of application form, if you are a poor creditor. These loans are specially designed for the people holding bad credit scores such as arrears or bankruptcy. These loans are free from the procedure of credit checks.
These loans are unsecured in nature. There is no need placing any asset, property or car as a collateral security against the borrowed amount. Therefore, tenants or non-homeowners can also make benefits from this financial scheme.
There is an eligibility criterion that must be cleared to avail these funds without any hurdle:
* You must be a permanent citizen of US.
* You must be an adult of at least 18 years or above.
* You must have regular job with a steady income of at least $1000 per month.
* You must possess a valid and active bank account.
To avail these loans through the Internet, you need to fill an online application form mentioning your personal details. If the lender approves you for the loan, you get money in less than a daytime. You get money with convenience and ease at its best. You are not required to come out of your zone of comfort to get money.