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Personal Finance And Paying Off Your Mortgage

In the process of buying a home or refinancing a mortgage, personal finance planning is often overlooked or neglected.

For a typical borrower, the plan was to get a loan that stretches out the monthly payments, delays the principal reduction, and use the home like an ATM machine to withdraw cash for various things.

Changes in the economy and real estate market should give homeowners a different perspective on managing their personal finances. Today, a financially practical approach to borrowing money for housing is to consider keeping a home as a long term place to live, while planning a specific time to pay off the mortgage.

When buying or refinancing a home, most people will take the path of low payment over a plan to eventually be mortgage free. The idea of owning a home free and clear of any mortgage may be a far off concept to many people, but it’s only a matter of time, maybe 15 years or less.

For example, a 15 year fixed rate mortgage can provide a realistic goal of being mortgage free, while saving thousands of dollars on interest payments, instead of a 30 year mortgage. Consider that a $200,000 loan with a 15 year mortgage could save as much as $120,000 over the life of the loan when compared to a 30 year mortgage term.

There has been an ongoing debate about the pros and cons of paying off a mortgage. Behind the argument for not paying off your mortgage is the reasoning that you could invest the extra money and earn a higher return, while keeping your money more liquid. That may have been a good reason in the past, but the rate of return on investing now is more questionable, compared to the fact that every dollar paid to reduce a mortgage balance provides a guaranteed return equal to the interest rate on the mortgage.

Another debating point about not paying off a mortgage has been the tax deduction benefit. In order to get an accurate picture of the tax benefit, compare the standard deduction allowed to itemized deductions with mortgage interest. If you paid $20,000 in mortgage interest for the year and received a $2,000 net tax write off, is that a good reason to prolong your mortgage?

Personal finance benefits of a 15 year mortgage

• Provides a fixed term strategy to eliminate your monthly mortgage expense.

• Incorporates the retirement of your mortgage into your overall retirement plan.

• Long term investment that guarantees a rate of return by reducing your debt.

• A future with less financial stress and the security of really owning your home.

• Saving a large amount of interest expense on a 15 year term instead of 30 years.

The personal finance goal of living without a house payment is attainable. If you can afford a 15 year mortgage, you set a timetable to one day enjoy the benefits owning your home free and clear. You also have the option of shaving a few years off the term by paying a little extra towards the principal balance each month. By the way, 15 year mortgage rates are usually lower than 30 year rates.

Written by Rick Smith: Mortgage, refinance rates and information on new homes San Diego.

Add Job Loss Insurance to Your Homeowners Insurance Policy

With a bleak economy looking bleaker by the day and an unemployment rate that is so high it’s shocking to think about, a job loss insurance rider to a homeowners insurance is a practice that many homeowners across the country are finding necessary. It seems that no job is free from cuts and steady income is becoming harder and harder to come by in these treacherous times. These factors are making the job loss insurance rider a more and more attractive option for homeowners from all parts of the country.

A job loss insurance rider is only as effective as the homeowners insurance policy it’s attached to. If you’re overpaying for insurance then chances are you won’t have the expendable income for job loss insurance. So get started on the right track towards affordable, quality homeowners insurance by comparing homeowners insurance quotes online today.

Comparison sites such as InsuranceAgents.com provide consumers with quotes from competitive, local insurance agents. After filling out a simple form, homeowners will be contacted by agents providing information such as coverage and pricing.

With a job loss insurance rider, your homeowners insurance company agrees to pay your mortgage for any periods of unexpected unemployment. There are some stipulations, however, such as:

• If you are unemployed because of resignation, forced retirement, or are let go because of criminal activities or misconduct then you will be deemed ineligible for job loss insurance.

• If you own more than 10 percent of the company you work for or are deemed “self employed” then you will not be eligible for job loss insurance.

• You won’t be able to reap the benefits of your job loss insurance right away. It usually takes between 30 and 60 days after the loan closes before the coverage starts.

In most cases you won’t be involved in the payment process. Generally, your homeowners insurance company will make your mortgage payments right to your mortgage company.

Job Loss Insurance: A Tale Of The Times

If this were the 1990s when the middle class was booming, unemployment was low, and the majority of Americans were doing “all right” then job loss insurance would be an expense easily dismissed. However, we live in very different times and if you don’t want to be a part of the staggering home foreclosure statistics plaguing our country then add a job loss insurance rider to your homeowners insurance policy. Talk to a home insurance agent right away to learn more.

Learn as much as you can about unique types of coverage that can go with a homeowners insurance policy. Also, it is important to learn specifically what is covered and what is not covered by your policy. For example, did you know that you might not be covered for water damage caused by a flood? You might need to consider flood insurance. Job loss insurance is just one of the many riders that can be added to your homeowners insurance policy. Find out what your other options are and get better coverage today.

Learn more about job loss insurance and request quotes from local agents. Kyle Fitzsimmons writes for InsuranceAgents.com, an Inc 500 fastest growing company. InsuranceAgents.com provides expert articles and home insurance quotes from up to five local agents. Request Home Insurance Quotes Now

The 411 on Accident Forgiveness and Your Auto Insurance

What would you say if someone came along and told you that the very first time you get into an accident, even if you’ve had a flawless driving record for 60 years, you were going to watch your auto insurance rates climb 40%-possibly higher? You’d probably say it stinks, followed a quick and firm litany of the reasons that it just ain’t fair. Guess what? You’d be right-and somebody in the auto insurance industry finally figured it out.

Welcome to the wide, wonderful world of accident forgiveness. A privilege reserved exclusively for those whose clean driving records have put them in a position to be given the benefit of the doubt after they’ve been in an accident. With accident forgive3ness auto insurance companies look at your driving history, see that you’ve been the insurance agent’s best friend and agree to let the accident slide-this time.

Before you start to rejoice, however, there are a couple of things about accident forgiveness you really, really need to know:

1) First and foremost, not all insurance carriers consider accident forgiveness to be a part of their standard policy package. Some of them may ask that you pay a little extra each month to make sure you’re covered-just in case.

2) Even if you are covered, there’s no guarantee that your accident will be forgiven completely. Every company has its own policies, and they may use the extent of the damage cause by the accident to help them determine whether they want to leave your auto insurance rates untouched or if they’re going to raise them-by considerably LESS than 40%! (2-10% is about normal in these cases.)

3) Forgiven doesn’t mean forgotten. Your auto insurance company can only control what goes on inside their own hallowed halls. The accident is still going to be on your driving record, and the negative points that accident is going to cause is still going to have an extremely detrimental effect on your auto insurance rates if you decide to switch companies-even more incentive to love the one you’re with!

4) Accident forgiveness usually depends entirely on whether or not you qualify for a five year good driver discount. They’re willing to give you a second chance, but most auto insurance companies draw the line at three or four.

5) If you have a teenage driver in the house you may find that your auto insurance company is willing to extend your accident forgiveness credit to them, since you share a policy and any increases in your auto insurance rates are going to affect all of you.

Accident forgiveness can be the answer to your prayers when it comes to keeping your auto insurance rates from plunging you deep into debt. That 40% can really hurt when it gets right down to it! If you don’t know if you qualify for accident forgiveness or not but are fairly certain you don’t have any black marks on your driving record at the moment, feel free to pick up the phone and give your insurance agent a call. Remember, you’ve got nothing to lose-and everything to gain.

Mike McDonough is a National Account Representative for QuoteScout.com. For more information on accident forgiveness and your auto insurance, visit them on the web at http://www.QuoteScout.com.

Looking For Business Start Up Loan?

It is not easy setting up a business let alone running it. Not only do you need man power but the drive and resources to build it onto a successful endeavor. Finances form a vital component. Not only is it important but the very existence of business rests on it. Having sufficient finances to start a new business goes without saying. An entrepreneur stating a new venture needs finances to be able to take care of every aspect of his new business.

The Capital to Start with:

Capital forms the staring point of finances. For all kinds of business, small medium or large, capital comes through either self financing or taking up loans to gain enough capital. Capital is of two types: fixed and working capital. Thankfully the financial market has found ways to provide new entrepreneurs in need of capital with business start up loans. These loans make it a lot easier for new comers in this filed to invest in all the aspects of the business venture.

What one can cover with Business Start up Loans:

When one starts with a business the basic things needed to invest in are land, plant and machinery, space and raw materials. But more investments keep coming your way. Business start up loans help you cover all of this. There are some reasonable rates of interests that can be availed of. There are many lenders out there offering solutions to your business problems. They are competitive so you are bound to find one that will take up the reigns of financing it till the profits starts flowing in.

Advantages in Taking up Business Start up Loans:

You can avail of both secured or unsecured loans.

By placing the business as collateral, you can go for a secured loan. It is more preferable. With low interest rates you can get the capital for you present and future investments. You will also get to bargain for higher loan amounts as well as repayment methods that are more flexible. Thus, you get more time on your hands.

In case you do not want to put up the business as security, getting unsecured loans is always an option. You not are potentially at a threat to lose your business if you cannot pay back your loans. But then, the rate of interest is quite high in comparison to secured loans.

Do not hesitate to look out for different lenders. There are many lenders out there all waiting to give you a good deal. After all that is their business. Depending on your requirements, go for the type of loan that suits you best. It is important to choose the right kind of loan. Once you have done an adequate bit of researching, get on to selecting the lender who gives you the best deal. Everyone welcomes financial support. It will help you build a better and stable business which in time will not only be reap profits but grow in size. So you can reliably go for a business start up loan.

Simon Johnnson is the director of content for Executive Gift Shoppe. They specialize in business card holders and wallets.

Minnesota Bank Services

Minnesota is a great place, a beautiful state with many fabulous things to see and to do. The land of ten thousand lakes offers many beautiful sights but one thing that is often overlooked and not readily realized are the great services offered by the banks in Minnesota.

The bank that is chosen to handle one’s personal finances is an important decision that should not be taken lightly. One of the main criteria factors that is involved in this decision process is the level of service that banks offer to their customers. Fortunately, Minnesota bank services are not only outstanding but they are also regarded as some of the best in the country.

For those who believe that all banks offer the same services, they are sorely mistaken; Minnesota bank services are superior.

What Services Are Offered?

Minnesota state banks are full service banks offering the best in checking and savings accounts, CD’s, credit and debit cards, and twenty four hour banking.

Checking Accounts

There are numerous checking account options that are offered which are tailored to each individual customer’s need. Green accounts are eco friendly and utilize twenty four hour online banking. Accounts are interest paying with free online account transfers, bill pay, direct deposit, plus the availability of credit and debit cards but there are many more services available. Depending on the type of account that is selected, there are safe deposit boxes, theft insurance, discounted loan rates and a myriad of other services offered by the bank. For those who desire the premium checking account, the services offered are unbelievable. With these accounts, a personal banker is assigned along with retirement planning, investment and insurance analysis, custom CD rates and accidental insurance.

Savings Accounts

Similar to checking accounts, there are a multitude of options available with savings accounts that will assist in meeting financial goals. These accounts maximize ease and flexibility while offering many of the great services that are available with checking accounts. These accounts will help turn hard earned money into large savings.

Certificates of Deposit

Minnesota state banks offer additional short term saving services in the form of certificates of deposit. The traditional CD account is available that offers a better interest rate than a savings account. The special CD account requires a higher minimum deposit but pays an even higher interest rate. For those planning for the future, the IRA CD account is a great vehicle to secure a steady income after retirement.

Online and Telephone Banking

Want to check your bank accounts without leaving your home? Do you want the convenience of online banking or checking your account over the telephone? If this sounds appealing, they are available through the Minnesota state banks. Accounts are available seven days a week, twenty four hours a day and are easily accessible from the convenience of your home.

Choose Minnesota Bank Services

Bank services that are offered through the Minnesota state banks are, without doubt, excellent. Accounts can be designed so that they exceed the expectations of their customers while, at the same time, maximizing ease and flexibility. Examine these great services for your banking needs and you will not be disappointed.

Try a secure Minnesota bank that provides business and personal banking solutions, including online banking, personal checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, and certificates of deposit.

St. Louis Refinancing: 3 Major Mistakes To Avoid

When it comes to doing a St. Louis refinancing home loan, consumers can make their mortgage process a bit easier by avoiding these 3 mistakes that borrowers frequently make.

1. Interest Rate, Interest Rate, Interest Rate

One of the biggest mistakes any homeowner can make when contemplating a refinancing is solely basing their decision on current interest rates. Of course, getting a lower rate can indeed save you large amounts of money over the life of the loan not to mention an immediate savings if it lowers your monthly payment.

A low rate can be great news. But beware. There are always a few lenders who may use this as a marketing ploy to get you to apply only to lead to abnormally high closing fees. On the other hand, don’t expect a lender to do your loan for free. In most instances, you will have to pay closing costs or points.

But don’t forget, you can use points to your financial advantage. Educated consumers know that paying a point or two up front will give them a much lower rate thus saving them tremendous amounts of money over a 15 to 30-year mortgage term. Plus, a lower monthly payment can give you the needed breathing room to avoid a possible financial disaster.

2. Always Review the Good Faith Estimate

Another huge mistake homeowners make when refinancing is not reviewing the Good Faith Estimate. This document is a methodical breakdown of the total cost of the mortgage, including the A.P.R., the interest rate (yes, these are 2 totally different financial figures) and all fees.

But remember, this document is exactly what it is called, an “estimate.” The actual figures for your loan might be slightly different at closing. This might happen due to your credit rating being lower than you anticipated. Or maybe your appraisal or debt-to-income ratio is not what was originally expected.

Whatever the reason for these changes on the Good Faith Estimate (GFE), keep in mind that your loan officer had no control over these stipulations. You may have to live with them for now. WARNING: If you notice that the GFE numbers have changed dramatically than originally stated, that may be a red flag and something you need to discuss with your lender.

When it comes to St. Louis refinancing home loans, they should be drawn up to help you and your family accomplish your financial goals and not be an additional burden.

3. I’m Waiting for the Right Time to Refinance

It’s human nature to watch interest rates on a daily basis especially when they are unusually low. The consumer may feel they will jump in at the right moment yielding them the lowest rate possible.

The best advice: Don’t be greedy. By trying to time a mortgage interest rate to the tee is like picking the perfect stock. It’s very difficult to do even for the career professional. People have entirely missed a good refinancing opportunity because of waiting too long to act.

If rates are historically 1 to 2 points lower than the norm, that may be the obvious and appropriate sign to move forward with a St. Louis refinancing home mortgage. So contact your local lender now at (314) 698-4092.

Floyd Tapia recommends Liberty Lending Consultants. They are experienced and caring and may just be the St. Louis mortgage broker you and your family choose to use for all your future lending needs. http://www.libertylendingconsultants.com/St_Louis_Refinancing

PPI Missold to the Self Employed

If you were self employed when you took out PPI then you may be due compensation. Many banks and lenders were keen to sell payment protection insurance to those who took out loans, mortgages and credit cards. Many who took out PPI were self employed. If you check the fine print, you may find that under certain circumstances, your policy doesn’t actually cover you.

If you are wondering what PPI is then firstly it stands for payment protection insurance. Its purpose is to protect borrowers in the event of accident, sickness and unemployment. This is fine in practice although the reality is that when many people go to make a claim on their policy, they find that they are not in fact covered because of some exclusion clause that prevents them from making a claim.

If you are not in full time employment and you’ve been paying hundreds into this insurance policy per year, it may be a wise move to claim compensation and get your money back. Once you add interest on top, which you can also claim, you could be looking at thousands of pounds back.

Let us take an example. If you have been paying £50 per month into this type of insurance policy over the course of five years, which is the usual length of a loan, then you would have paid a total of £3000 into this policy by the end of the loan. Adding interest on top of this can often increase the size of a claim by as much as 25% - in fact in some cases it has doubled the size of the claim!

What you need to do first is to check your loan agreement. Does it say payment protection insurance on it or anything similar to that? You must check that you did actually take it out first and this information can usually be found on the loan agreement. If unsure then you could always contact your lender. They are obliged to release any information they hold about you.

Now here’s the tricky part – drafting a carefully worded complaint to the financial institution that sold you the policy. Do ensure that you document your personal circumstances when you took out the policy and the exact reasons why you feel the policy was incorrectly sold to you. It’s also helpful here to be aware of the Misrepresentation Act because if the lender was in breach of this it could strengthen your claim. Another piece of legislation is the statute of limitations – you need to make sure that you are claiming within the necessary time constraints.

If unsure, or you simply don’t have the time, you could find a claims company to handle your claim for you. Choose one that has experience with PPI claims, that is regulated by the Ministry of Justice and that doesn’t charge any upfront fees. It may take the complexity and the frustration out of the whole process for you, as not all of us enjoy having to compose legal letters of claim and enter into correspondence with the very people who have mistreated us in the first place.

Stuck with a worthless PPI policy? Simplicity Claims can pursue a claim on your behalf. If you were self-employed, read our PPI self employed guide for more information.

Wealth Management and Financial Planning

Nigeria is classed as one of the third world nations, because of its growth index and level of development. However, the country is now described as an emerging economy.

In these times there have been many growing economic activities in the nation, starting to show potential signs that it could breed a new set of millionaires. This includes both the educated and the non-educated, old and young, male and female – and those who are financially literate and illiterate. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and businesses, though most are from oil, gas, banking, sports, manufacturing and transportation.

VISION 2020 proposed that the present president will put Nigeria among the top 20 economies of the world by that year, and the number of millionaires is constantly growing.

However, the main problem is that the creation of wealth can pose a number of problems when it comes to maintaining that wealth. This is why it’s so important to find financial planners who are experts in wealth management. This is a novel idea, and may sound strange to many people – many citizens do not understand the place of these services in current economic affairs. However, the president saw that there is a dire need for these services and called on all Nigerian businesses living in Switzerland to come back home and offer a helping hand to reaching his important dream.

These kind of services are already established in more developed countries, accounting for the giant leaps that these nations have seen in terms of wealth. This hasn’t just happened down to chance, but empires abroad have managed to last for over 40 years and counting. A phrase like private wealth management is actually quite common in countries like this, denoting a specialized service instead of a service that is generally offered. A foreign service provider, Morgan Stanley, stated that private wealth management is there for those who have investments that are worth over $20 million.

It is clear to see that you cannot over emphasize the importance of financial planning. They have a central role in your affairs, much like a coach. The team involves lawyers, insurers, bankers, stockbrokers, real estate brokers and more. And all of their duties depend on the instructions.

It is this duty which separates this service from more traditional financial services. For a complete beginner, having a guide you can trust really helps you to reach your financial destination. If you have gathered a few million then a strategy can even multiply this! There have been many cases reported when million dollar empires have disintegrated completely, which is why it’s important to make sure that the management of wealth is up to scratch. The single work of a wealth management financial planner goes towards ensuring that the lifespan of the wealth is always protected, helping to prolong the wealth of the nation as a whole. This will ensure that the company never dissolved, and the future is always taken care of.

Timothy Hamletts, specialist in finance filed, a columnist, a journalist who review about searscard.com with guidelines and how to benefit with useful information and more update news about searscard

Should You Use Online Banking?

There are many different types of bank account available online, but have you ever considered using online banking? This is an extremely common trend these days, helping you to do banking online in many countries. However, for some it is still not so common, and the banking system may not be strongly developed yet. However, despite this fact online banking is an area that is always growing, making it important to learn what you can about it now.

It’s important to consider the many different reasons why you may or may not use online banking, so here are some of the things you should consider.

The Advantages of Online Banking

The great thing about online banking is that just about any transaction can be done from your home. This can save you a lot of time, since you no longer have to go down to the bank every time you want to transfer money between accounts, or any other transaction. Before online banking, you could only do this from the bank – not even ATM machines have the same capabilities.

By having online banking you will also have the ability to monitor the balance on your account easily, giving you control over your budget. It’s easy to see in a second how much money you have left for the rest of the month. The great thing about this is that we no longer have to wait for monthly bank statements, which were often unreliable to say the least! This is yet another reason why online banking is an extremely convenient option.

The Disadvantages of Online Banking

Some of the banks may charge you a fee to use their online banking services. This may be a small fee, such as $1.00 per month. Nevertheless this still adds up over months and months of using the online banking service.

However, the single biggest issue when it comes to using your online banking is making sure that your bank account is secure. Since you are going to be carrying out highly personal transactions online, you do not want this information to be traced by unwanted people. If someone were ever to get hold of your username and password then they would have access to all the money available in your account.

Conclusion

When it comes down to it, online banking is undoubtedly a very convenient option. However, at the same time there will always be a risk to your information. This is why it’s important to research your bank carefully, and make sure that their online services come with a high level of security. A good way to go about this is to ask your friend about the experience they have had with their bank, and you can also look around the internet for bank reviews.

The good news is that most banks are now putting together complex software and password systems to make it harder and harder for any hackers to access your sensitive information. Just think carefully and take your time before signing up to an online bank account.

Timothy Hamletts, specialist in finance filed, a columnist, a journalist who review about nfcu.org with guidelines and how to benefit with useful information and more update news about nfcu

Online Banking Made Simple

If you want to handle your banking really simply, then online banking is the way to go. Traditionally you may have been used to doing your banking by visiting the hank itself and asking them to take care of whatever you need. You’d have to do this for all kinds of transactions, such as opening an account, paying in a check, checking your balance, withdrawing money, paying a bill, applying for a loan and more.

The days of spending hours visiting the bank are finally over! Internet banking has really taken off in the last five years, and is more convenient than ever. With online banking you can access your bank 24 hours a day.

If you sign up to an online banking service, you won’t even need to get dressed or leave the comfort of your home to do your banking. This is great for those cold or rainy days when you just don’t want to leave the house!

The good news is that these days most national and regional banks have some form of this online banking service. They do so to provide convenience to their customers as well as for their own convenience.

By allowing customers to access their bank accounts from the internet, they do not always have to employ as many staff – meaning that the banks save money. This, in turn, means that they can pass on some of the savings to the customer, including higher interest rates on your savings. You can benefit from this by shopping around for the best account.

There are even some virtual banks that exist today that do not have any brick and mortar existence at all, running solely off the internet. Due to the great savings they experience from only banking, they can offer some of the best interest rates around.

One of the other benefits of doing your banking online is that you can easily get all of your bills paid. All you need to do is press a few keys on the keyboard and your bill will be paid for! You no longer have to worry about the reliability of sending your bill in the post.

Another way you can use online banking is with direct deposits. This means that the money from your paycheck is automatically sent to your bank account. This also makes it a lot easier to deal with IRS. Just fill in your tax returns and you can pay your bills electronically!

As we get further into the 21st century we can take advantage of the many progresses available to us, especially with internet banking. There are many ways to do your banking online, which has now turned a chore into something that’s really quick and easy to deal with. We no longer have to waste hours at the bank, letting the staff deal with our business. If you haven’t tried it yet, then it’s about time you signed up for online banking services and starting seeing how much it can help!

Timothy Hamletts, specialist in finance filed, a columnist, a journalist who review about myeasypayment.com with guidelines and how to benefit with useful information and more update news about myeasypayment

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