Most people can do better financially. Most of us if not all of us meet opportunities on a daily basis that are intended to change our financial fortunes for the better but are unable to recognize them in their camouflaged state. Opportunities of devious magnitudes happen to all men. We are programmed to see and hear only those things that we want to see and hear. What will happen if we can learn to freeze this approach to life and unfreeze the conscious expectation of everything we need to become what we should be, that is, if we fully comprehend and have visualized what we should be? Nothing happens by chance! You have to want it and want it very bad.There is always a starting point to everything and a first time with which to experience things. If we do not start we’ll never get anywhere and the worst that can happen is retrogression. Our dreams which are linked to our desires differ in magnitude. Some people desire to be wealthy and others desire to be well to do, that is, to have their needs met. Some actions have to be initiated for these things to manifest. It is only when you are consciously conscious of who you want to become and what you want to achieve that you will begin to take appropriate and relevant actions to achieving your goals. We all have something to give to others which we can do in exchange for something. This is how battering came about and was highly effective. It was all about meeting the needs of others. Think about what you can do to meet the needs of others and receive compensation for doing that and you will have found an income generating system.For those who are already earning an income, there are some things you can begin to consider to improve your financial status. Make sure that you cover the basic stuff first before considering moving to the next level of financial freedom. Personal financial management is the first hurdle to cross before attempting total financial freedom. If you acquire basic skills for personal financial literacy and manage your personal finances well, you’ll then find business finance management very interesting. The skills of saving, investing, and making your money grow for your future financial needs and of protecting your income are the basis for proper financial planning. Everyone can cure their financial lack.The quest to be financially healthy requires that we be disciplined, responsible, knowledgeable and understanding. Financial literacy is the most important set of life skills that we all need to survive and be successful in the modern world. This is the set of skills that has been acquired by very few people hence there are only few financially successful people in the world today. The lack of this skill results in many people finding it extremely difficult to manage their financial affairs and to successfully plan their financial future.If we spend all our money today we’ll have no provision for tomorrow and we’ll have to work extra hard just to survive. If we save some of our money today, we’ll have something for tomorrow. This is how serious saving and investing a portion of our monies today is. Put your money to good use and let it generate more money for you. If you spend all your money today, then you are giving away your future financial freedom. We cannot just hide our heads in the sand and hope that the future will take care of itself. We have to force ourselves to make hay while the sun is still shining, when age, time, health and resources still allow us to do so. Choosing not to take heed of the advice of the wise will be downright ignorant and foolish.Personal financial management is the launching pad for personal financial freedom and paves a way to personal wealth. We have to start by acknowledging that we are not going to be young forever, that we are not going to be strong physically and mentally forever. We are not going to be able to work forever even though we may wish so. Working, as a business owner or employee, requires strength and energy and aging might be a limiting factor. You need to prepare for an event or time when you will be unable to work any longer. This calls for you to protect your personal income in case you die, become disabled or retire due to old age. You have to consider life and disability assurance while you are still working either as a business owner or employee to protect yourself and your income. Not considering this advice is purely being irresponsible. Consult your financial adviser and engage him or her on this issue. Do the right thing, plan your personal finances. There should be enough money available to pay off debts and in the case of disability, to make changes that will help you cope with your new situation.You have to understand the negative effects of inflation on your savings so that you can craft strategies to counter it. For example, an inflation rate of say 5% a year will half the buying power or value of your money in 10 to 15 years’ time. In other words, if it costs you US$125 a month now to buy your groceries, you will need US$250 to buy those same groceries in 10 to 15 years’ time. Time is the most important factor when it comes to saving and making money grow. The longer time you save, the more interest you will receive out of your savings.Money grows when it is used to make more money. However, investing money is not a sure bet, it involves huge risks. The objective of investing is to make more money. Your goal should be to maximize the returns on your investments with less risk on your capital. It starts from searching and researching companies, funds and business sectors you wish to invest in. There are many different ways of investing money in the economy and each of these different ways has its own levels of risk and return unless you open an investment account with a financial institution (bank). Work on your action plans for short-term, medium term and long-term investment strategies.While it is extremely important to invest in reputable companies, the reputation and integrity of your financial adviser is extremely important. Do not take your adviser’s advice at face value. Go for a second and even a third opinion and do more research. You cannot afford to believe only what your adviser is telling you. Trust is not enough as it will not guarantee you your returns. Research and scrutinize documents before committing yourself. Never put all your eggs in one basket regardless of how tempting it might be.It is extremely important to have a will. Will allows you to register your wishes in writing so that when you pass on, you may have this document speaking for you. Failure to do this will result in your possessions going to people you never wished to have them or going to the state (intestate). Any person of 16 years or older who is mentally capable of understanding what he or she is doing can make a will. Estate laws differ from country to country. Please check laws relevant to your country. Banks, lawyers and trust companies (most of them are insurance companies) can assist with the drawing up of a customer’s will. Ask your banker or financial adviser about the process of setting up a will.Regardless of how prosperous your business and investments are today, you have to provide in advance for the needs of your growing age and the protection of your loved ones. A budget is a plan that deals with the future allocation and utilization of various resources with regard to different organizational activities over a given period. Budgeting is a disciplined way of spending your hard earned income. It is a tool used to translate future plans into quantitative terms.Remember that the wealth you are trying to create is not only for you, it is for your second, third and fourth generations. Budget your expenses in such a way that you may have money available to pay for your necessities. You must also make provision to pay for your entertainment without spending more than ninety per cent of your earnings. Make provision for giving to deserving charities in the ninety per cent available for you to spend. It is important to get used to giving as it is a spiritual and universal law that binds all of us. Make sure that you invest the ten per cent of your income to give you excellent returns. Guard this ten per cent with all diligence for it is a seed that has to generate wealth for you.
How to Get a Mortgage With Bad Credit?
If you have a great credit rating, you won’t find it difficult to get a mortgage. Almost every lender will be more than happy to serve you. On the other hand, if your credit rating is low, you will face a hard time getting a loan to finance your new home.
Your credit reports and credit rating is quite important for creditors to find out if you are a good or bad candidate for a mortgage loan. Aside from this, the assessment of your creditworthiness allows lenders to get a better idea of the amount of money they can lend you with confidence. In other words, this can assure that that you will make the payments on time.
The credit reports and scores will help a lender know if you have paid back your previous loans without any missed deadlines. If you have had a lot of late payments, or payment delinquents, chances are that you have a poor rating. The mention of any of these can be a red flag to your prospective lenders. Since the goal of the lender is to make lots of money, they may take you as a risk.
Unfortunately, if you have changed your habits, they will still review your past to get an assessment whether it will be a good idea to do business with you. Similarly, if you have a credit score in the range of 750, the lender will still consider your debt usage. If your reports show that you have taking loans quite often, they may find it a bit too risky to grant you a loan.
First-Time Home Buyers
If you are a first-time homebuyer, getting a conventional home loan with poor credit rating can be a bit hard nut to crack. However, it’s not a goal that is impossible to achieve.
Tips to Qualify for a mortgage with Bad Credit
Given below are a few tips that you can use to improve your chances of qualifying for a credit rating. If you follow these tips, chances are that your application will be approved.
1. Make a Larger Down Payment
First, if you don’t qualify for a non-traditional loan, you can wait for a while and save money to make a larger down payment. The problem is that lenders consider borrowers with a bad credit score a great risk. Generally, lenders are willing to grant loans to lenders who can make at least 20% down payment. Therefore, if you can pay that much as down payment, you will be able to qualify.
2. Reduce Your Debt Usage
If you have poor credit rating and you are trying to get a loan, we suggest that you reduce your overall ration of debt-to-income. This ration allows a lender to figure out the amount of money you can afford.
3. Use Your Rental History
In most credit reports, you can’t find information about the user’s rental payments. But if you can, you can prove that you made all the payments on a consistent basis over the past 24 months. Aside from this, some other reporting tools can also. They may include RentTracki, Rental Kharma, and Rent Reporters, to name a few.
Before you go for a tool, we suggest that you do your homework to find out about the monthly charges and fees. Aside from this, you should find out if your private data can be protected and the steps you need to do if you cancel the service.
Keep in mind that these tools provide reports for only big credit bureaus. However, you can also find some that can send their reports to all of them.
4. Explain Your Circumstances and Credit Rating
Another good way is to write a letter to explain your situation. In the letter, you should mention the reasons of your negative points on your credit report. And you try to convince the lender that the mistakes won’t happen again.
Also, you should assure that that you are trying to handle the situation you are in. For instance, you can help them realize that you are looking for a job. Before talking to the lender, make sure you get documents to spell out the credit challenges you have been facing. Aside from this, if you can spell out the derogatory items on your credit history, you may be in a better position to get a mortgage.
When taking to the lender, make sure you are specific. You shouldn’t be afraid to provide details of your concerns and needs. This will save you from a lot of headache down the road.
Conclusion
Long story short, if you have a bad credit score but you are still looking for a lender to give you a loan for your first home, we suggest that you follow the tips given in this article. Make sure you also discuss the matter with your mortgage specialist or mortgage broker.
Eliminating Profit Robbing Telemarketing Calls to Your Business
Most of us small business owners don’t have the luxury of having a secretary or office manager to screen our calls for us. It can become overwhelming when answering sales call after sales call from telemarketers prevent us from doing what makes us money. To top it off, we can sometimes be talked into spending our hard earned money on products or services that are often overpriced and/or not needed in the first place.Each time we add a new business telephone number or change the business location of the ones we currently have, our telephone numbers are placed on a telemarketing list as a “new business.” Our business phone lines are then overrun by harassing telemarketers that want to be the first to sell a new business what they don’t need. You see a “new business owner” generally hasn’t fine tuned their decision making skills to the point that they can just say no and hang up. These skills come with time and experience. Telemarketers know this and target these new business owners because seasoned owners won’t fall for their tactics.I am always adding or changing toll free and regular phone numbers. To prevent this constant barrage of calls (I call it “the first wave”) or to at least limit them, I have developed a strategy that is working right now. You, as a small business owner, can take what you need from this and add to it your own ideas that you have found that work.First, the “Do Not Call” list! This list was set up for consumers and not businesses. We as consumers are afforded a lot more rights under the law than we are as business owners. Either way there is no mechanism the government can use to determine whether the number you put on the list is a business number or a residential number. I am not telling you to put your company’s number on the list. I am simply explaining that if you did, it would work. Any number that is put on this list almost instantly sees a drop in calls from telemarketers. You can find this list by doing a search for “do not call list” on your favorite search engine.Secondly you must accept the fact that if you need something for your business then you will seek it out and find it yourself! Train yourself to never buy “spur of the moment!” Spontaneous purchases can kill a business. Once you realize this then you will never change your phone service just because someone called and was nice to you. You’ll never buy twelve dozen light bulbs or two thousand feet of extension cord. If you need a first aid kit then go buy one at the Home Depot and don’t buy a dozen from a con man on the other end of the phone. First aid kits, extension cords, light bulbs and phone service are all the top sellers to the construction business, your industry may differ but I am sure not by much. You must say no and it is absolutely OK to be rude and to hang up mid sentence. The point is that once you have trained yourself to say “no,” then you can follow step three.Third, you must tell the caller that not only are you not interested but you want them to remove your company and phone number from their list. You must do this every time.
Watch out for “free” items, “we want to save you money” or “can I ask you why” because these are their favorite tricks to get you to spend. I try to be as polite as I can so that they will actually remove my phone number. Sometimes you may need to call an 800 number that they will give you in order to be removed from further solicitation. I recommend that you call and have your business’ phone number removed right away because these companies can actually sell your name to other companies as an “active” number and that will only make matters worse. The problem then spreads like a virus. The bottom line is to tell them no and to ask them to remove you from their list before you even hear what they have to offer.Another way that I minimize the distractions of telemarketing sales calls is to use caller ID. Unfortunately, only local companies that acquire work locally can utilize this method. My concrete cutting company services customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, so when I get a call from California or some odd area code, I will prepare myself to be firm and up front before I answer the phone. If my calls are forwarded to my cellular telephone and I find out the call wasn’t from a vendor or supplier then I will simply program the number as DNA into my cell phone. This stands for “Do Not Answer!” You can program up to ten numbers under one contact name in most cellular phones and give it a distinct ring tone. I have DNA1, DNA2 and so on and I am up to DNA9 right now. If I see or hear one of these numbers come in I just push the button that sends them directly to voice mail.Lastly and very important is the use of a device that is called the “TeleZapper.” The TeleZapper sends a digital tone through the phone line telling automatic dialers used my many telemarketers that the line is currently disconnected and or not in use. The automatic dialing computer subsequently removes your phone number from its list. This not only stops them from calling back it also prevents them from selling your phone number as an “active number.” This device became almost extinct once the “Do Not Call” list became a reality because who needs to “zap” a telemarketer if you are not getting any calls? It still works great for the small business and you will see a dramatic drop in telemarketing calls if you use it correctly. This device will not work if you forward your calls to another phone or if you use a voice mail provided by your phone company and your calls are sent to that voice mail box. It will work when a call is picked up by an answering machine in your office. The TeleZapper is very difficult to find anymore in retail stores but it is still readily available new on eBay or online.© 2007 Affordable Concrete Cutting Massachusetts, MA All Rights Reserved