It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by your financial situation, especially if it is not looking good, but you can get your finances back in shape.

If you want your personal finances to be fit and sexy, you have to follow the same steps you would if you were trying to get your body fit:

Set Goals

When you are trying to lose weight, you have to know where you are headed to make real progress.  Wanting to lose weight by itself is not a goal, it’s just a motivation; a goal is to lose 10 pounds in two months.  Goals are quantifiable and measurable, and they give you benchmarks of your progress.

The same principle holds true for your finances: you have to set goals to make progress.  According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, only 42% of American workers have figured out how much they need to save for retirement.  Everybody knows that they need to save, but that by itself is not enough.

So, whether you’re trying to get out of debt, or whether you are saving for an emergency fund or retirement, set specific, quantifiable, and measureable goals that you can use to track your progress.  And then set new goals every six months or so.

Work Out

Goals don’t mean much if you aren’t hitting the gym every day, and the same is true for your finances.  You won’t see progress if you don’t start changing some of your spending habits or investment strategies.

After you’ve set your goals, take half an hour to plan how you will meet them.  Do you need to cut back on your electricity and water usage? Should you start taking the bus? Maybe you could drop your cable subscription or other monthly charge that aren’t essential, at least until you’ve met your goals.

Small charges add up, so it also helps to review a few monthly statements and see exactly where your money was going.  Eating out every night, for example, is extremely expensive, but doesn’t feel like it while you are doing it, because the charges are relatively small. Once you’ve identified the spending trends that need to change, start putting new practices in place.

Hit the Problem Areas

Just as everyone has one part of their body they’d like to be slimmer, more muscular, or more ​toned, most people also have a financial flabbiness in one area or another that they wish they could get rid of.  Hitting the problem areas first is both a great way to boost your overall financial fitnessand an encouraging step toward new commitment to achieving your goals.  Debt is, for most people, the area they’d like to hit most, and is also the area that should be hit first.  Getting rid of debt is essential to any financial plan, especially if that plan involves any kind of investment in the future (and yours should).

So get out and hit the financial gym every day to get your finances in the best shape your life.
Guest Article By: Eliza Morgan who is a full time blogger.  She specializes in writing about business credit cards. You can reach her at: elizamorgan856 at gmail dot com.

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In the UK the Debt Resolution Forum recognizes that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) sets standards for debt management guidance and any DRF members must strictly adhere to their standards. It is a regulatory organization in the UK that promotes standards for debtors’ financial problems, focused on the quality of the advice provided. Not only should advice be consistent but it should also be objective and impartial. You will find that there are altogether too many pseudo-advisers who want nothing more than to make a commission or to take a fee when there are better solutions which won’t incur fees.

In the US, there are several national non-profit organizations that provide debt management assistance and are available to help Americans budget money and pay their bills including the American Debt Counseling, Inc., American Consumer Credit Counseling, InCharge Institute of America, Money Management International and Myvesta. Make sure they are members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC).

Alternatively, the Federal Trade Commission has facts for consumers on debt management and dealing with debts.

When a consumer first contacts a debt advice firm, be it in the UK or America, there should be no upfront payment and fees will always be transparent. If there are any clear cut risks involved, the debtor will always be apprised of what his or her options are. The end goal is always to help the debtor resolve outstanding debt in order to be financially stable once again.

To this end, all advice will be ethical and in the best interest of the debtor. Pressure will not be brought to bear on the debtor to sign up for services which are not needed. By following strict standards, a debt advice company can assure you that any counsel they provide is in keeping with the guidelines and that the debtor is always free to have the final word. If he or she chooses not to utilize debt management services there should be no fee attached to the initial consultation.

Regardless of who you go with for debt advice, it should be high quality and the firm you are using should work with you to find the best debt solution for your individual case. Debt is a multilingual concept that causes loss of sleep, unopened mails, bailiffs, not answering the telephone and despair. Don’t bottle it up- talk to someone about your debt problems.

Bio: www.debtfreeme.co.uk, as founding members of the Debt Resolution Forum, can be counted on to provide no obligation advice on debt resolution. Information is handled with strictest confidentiality and any debt solutions will be tailored uniquely to the situation at hand.

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There are actually several alternative to cash till payday loans, there is just a bit of creativity needed to identify what they are.

Advances from employers – If your situation is a one off thanks to unpredictable circumstances, ask for an advance of your salary from your employer. Some employers will adhere to this on request.

Consumer Credit Counseling – Consumer credit counseling is a free service provided in the interests of the consumer. People are trained especially to be able to help consumers work out how to repay their debts with a repayment plan and also how to develop a budget to manage finances long term.

Work overtime or get a second job – If you find yourself short of money each month it might be worth looking into additional ways to earn more money. This could be by asking for overtime at your current job or even getting a second, part time job.

Borrow from a friend or family member – Borrowing from a friend or family member as a one off source of short term income is the cheapest method of finance. This way will avoid costly interest charges from other sources of loans.

Small consumer loans – A small consumer loan works very much like a payday loan however the rates of interest or APR are much lower, therefore this option is much cheaper. The only downside is that these types of loan are subject to more regulation therefore people with a poor credit rating may not be eligible.

Payment plan with creditors – This is the best option if possible as it involves liaising directly with the people to whom you owe money to negotiate more realistic repayments which might mean that you make smaller repayments over a longer period of time.

If you find yourself unable to meet the monthly cost of living, don’t just assume that payday loans are your only option. Yes they are indeed and option, however look at the alternatives outlined above to see if there is a better solution available.

Laura Susstance is a freelance content writer from The UK, she is currently contributing to a number of financial sites including fast payday loans review

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Canadian Government made changes to its Interest Act recently. The changes involve the addition of new regulations to “prescribed entities” class of the act. These regulations will be helpful in clarifying the issues in the prepayment rights of commercial mortgages law. The new regulations have been enabled by the Federal Law from January 2012.

Background of the prepayment rights law

The Interest Act deals with the general interest rate related principles like how the interest rates are charged on all loans including mortgages. The borrower, under Section 10 of the Interest Act, has a prepayment right in situations. According to this provision if the payment of mortgage can be made for more than a period of five years after the mortgage, then the prepayment can be done with an amount that is calculated by adding an extra three months’ amount of interest along with the principal and the accrued interest of the loan.

But the regulation limits these provisions to a few types of borrowers for instance it doesn’t apply to “joint stock companies or any other corporation”. It further states that the provision cannot be used in case of “prescribed mortgages” by “prescribed classes”.

The law was originally designed to make sure that the individuals who are capable of prepaying their mortgages are not sucked into a system of loan payment, wherein he or she has to pay the interest and the payment for the term specified. Borrowers like joint stock companies were excluded, but other business entities like trusts, partnership companies etc were not a part of the “other corporation” part of the legislation. As they were left out of the definition of the law, such business entities could make use of these provisions of the act. Therefore, the Federal Law considered it important to introduce some new regulation to expressly address this issue.

New changes

The new regulations have been introduced to take care of the problem arising out of excluding some of the business forms from the Interest Act Prepayment Rights definition. Now there are some additional business entities added to the list of the companies that cannot take advantage of the provisions of the act. The new regulations include the following business entities in the list of the companies who have taken mortgages on real assets and hypothecs of immovable assets after 1st January 2012-

1) Partnership firms

2) Business trusts or commercial trusts

3) The companies that belong to unlimited liability companies category as per Alberta Business Corporations Act

4) The companies that belong to unlimited liability companies category as per British Columbia Business Corporations Act

5) The companies that belong to unlimited liability companies category as per Nova Scotia Companies Act

These are the companies that are the “prescribed companies” in “prescribed mortgages by prescribed companies” as defined in Section 10 (2)(b) of the Interest Act.

The main objective of these regulations in the act is to make sure that individual borrowers benefit from the mortgage loan Prepayment Rights legislation and not the business entities for commercial purposes. The law protects only individual borrowers, for whom the law was passed in the first place.

Author Bio :

Penny Cooper is an expert associated with Mortgage Broker firm Mortgage Central. The firm has experts assisting people with Home Mortgage, mortgage refinancing and debt consolidation areas.

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Building Insurance

If you decide to cover your house alone, without any of its contents, you can take out a buildings insurance policy. Depending on the terms of your policy – always make sure you select the right level of coverage to suit your requirements – you will usually receive an insurance pay-out to cover the cost of replacement or rebuilding aspects of your house following fire, flood, or other damage to your property. For this reason, it is important to make sure your buildings insurance policy covers the full value of your home; if your building is under-insured then you may have to fund repairs yourself.

Contents Insurance

If you would like to protect the contents of your home, you will need house contents insurance. These policies offer varying levels of coverage, and can include insurance on specified expensive items, collectables, etc. If you think it would be cheaper to replace all your possessions than to take out insurance, then it is unlikely you would benefit from contents insurance. However, for most of us, the cost of all our clothes, furniture, gadgets, and other personal possessions greatly exceeds what we would expect to pay on a house contents insurance policy.

Additional Options

Some service providers offer additional features in their contents insurance policies, such as accidental damage coverage. You may also be able to insure your possessions outside your home. For example, if you travel with a laptop or other item of significant value you could include this in your home contents insurance, so there is no need to take out a separate insurance policy for these valuable possessions. Some policies also cover bicycles, and policies which include specified items of high value can cover family heirlooms or original artwork. Check the terms and conditions of your policy to ensure you are happy with the level of coverage it offers before you make any final decisions.

The main advantage of paying for home insurance is that you will not have to pay for repairs and replacements yourself in the future if an unfortunate event does occur. This has the potential to save you money in the long run, and provides peace of mind in the knowledge that damage to your property will be less likely to damage your bank account.

If you are unsure whether you would benefit from taking out insurance, you can obtain one or more no obligation quotes from insurance service providers to help you make a decision.

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You may have originally received a high-interest loan for many reasons, whether it was simply due to market conditions or whether a low credit score resulted in a higher rate. However, if you have proven to be a trusted and consistent borrower since then, the opportunity to refinance into a lower rate may arise.

Lower your interest rate

One of the more basic refinancing options is a rate and term refinance. Quite simply, it allows you to take advantage of a lower interest rate or a different loan term in order to cut your monthly payments.

The amount of money you can save might surprise you. A $200,000 loan with an 8 percent interest rate has monthly payments of more than $1,400. However, the same loan with a 4 percent interest rate costs just $954 per month.

Change the loan type

You may want to change the type of home loan you have. There are four major loan types to choose from, which all have their own pros and cons when dealing with a high interest loan:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage: A 30-year FRM has become the most traditional mortgage type. It gives you a fixed interest rate that will not change over the length of the loan, meaning you will always know what your monthly payments will be.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgage: Meanwhile, a 15-year FRM is also a popular option for those looking to refinance. It starts with a lower interest rate than a 30-year loan. While the monthly payments might be a bit larger because you have half the time to pay off the loan, you end up paying a lot less interest over the course of the loan.
• Adjustable-rate mortgage: A pure adjustable-rate loan comes with an even lower starting interest rate than fixed-rate loans. However, that rate can also change based on the market, so your actual payments may go up and down while you own your home.
• Hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage: Hybrid ARM loans have rates that start between fixed-rate and adjustable loans. That rate will stay the same for a certain number of years — generally three, five or seven — and then fluctuate like an adjustable rate loan. This might be a good option if you are sure you will be moving during the next few years.

Cash-out refinance loan

It may also be in your best interests to do a cash-out refinance to free up some cash for other purposes. Depending on how much equity you have in your home, you might be able to take out enough money to make home improvements, pay off your credit card debt or take care of other expenses.

Regardless of which option you are interested in, if you have a high-interest loan you may be able to save a lot of money. Talking to a Freedom Mortgage expert about your options is the first step to cutting your mortgage payments and giving you peace of mind.

This is a guest post by Freedom Mortgage, a leader in wholesale lending, retail lending, correspondent lending, and renovation lending, with more than 80 offices nationwide. Freedom Mortgage provides specialized advice from licensed loan professionals whether you are refinancing your home loan or looking to buy a new home. Freedom Mortgage has been providing fixed rate and adjustable rate mortgage loans for more than 20 years.

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Stock Chart Pattern #1: Head & Shoulders

The Head & Shoulders is one of the most reliable chart patterns, having accuracy of almost 90% and generating profits for decades. The head & shoulders is a reversal pattern, that indicates a shift in trend and beginning of a reversal.

We will usually trade this pattern when the neckline is broken, and will join the trade right at the breakout. However, for even more accurate entry it is recommended to wait for price to pull back to the neckline, and begin the new trend. The pullback entry is even more accurate than the breakout one, reaching around 95% accuracy. This is a chart pattern you must trade and master.

Stock Chart Pattern #2: Double Top

The Double Top is another pattern which you must trade, as it provides very good win rate (around 76% winning trades) and very consistent profits in many stocks and Forex pairs.

The Double Top is created when price tries to break a resistance level twice and is unable to, creating a shape resembling the letter ‘M’. Eventually price breaks the neckline downwards, which is the sell signal for chart traders. We will also enter a short trade if price pulls back to the broken neckline from below.

Stock Chart Pattern #3: The Channel

The Channel is one of the most accurate chart patterns that appears in almost any Stock or index, and are the foundation of trends. The Channel consists of two parallel trend lines in a certain direction – it can be either ascending or descending.

The Channel symbolizes a healthy trend in which price moves forward in a certain rythem. We can trade the channel in several methods: The first one is to take trades on the trend lines themselves (make sure to enter only with the direction of the trend and not against it).

Another trading method that is particularly powerful with channels is to enter after it is broken: entering short when an ascending channel is broken and entering long when a descending channel is broken. For extra accuracy we recommend not to enter the breakout itself but wait for the pullback.

Conclusion

Chart patterns are a very reliable and consistent way of trading, and if you focus just on the 3 patterns mentioned above, you will generate stable profits from any market you trade. Choose one pattern at a time, learn to identify it on historical charts and then proceed to master it in real trading.

Guest Author Bio: Steve Sollheiser is a trading veteran with experience in trading stock chart patterns and trading Forex. In his site he shares his insight about chart trading and trading psychology.

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One way in which refinancing a mortgage can actually be detrimental is the high closing costs. Closing costs must be paid each time a mortgage is refinanced, like those paid when you initially closed the loan. These closing costs are often substantial, especially for families trying to pinch pennies, and can generally cost a borrower a couple of thousand dollars. If the interest rate in which you are refinancing under isn’t more than one percent lower than your initial rate, the closing costs you pay may mean that you won’t save any money at all.

If you have had a mortgage for several years and are just now interested in refinancing, you may also want to reconsider before you head to your local Aurora Bank FSB. When you refinance a mortgage, you refinance the entire mortgage – interest accrued and all. So under your new refinanced mortgage, you will essentially wind up paying interest on interest – not something that someone with a well matured mortgage wants to do.

However, refinancing your mortgage isn’t all bad. If you have a mortgage that you had to take out under a higher interest rate due to previous poor credit, refinancing under a lower interest rate can be incredibly beneficial – sometimes affording you the possibility of achieving an interest 2 or more percent lower. Also if you have both a mortgage loan and a home equity loan, choosing to refinance both under a lower rate can also be beneficial.

If you choose to refinance your home, however, you should only do so once in order to avoid paying substantial closing costs.

While we all want to save money, quickly jumping into a refinance may not be the best way to do so. If you can, consider asking your lender to extend the life of your mortgage so that you can lower your monthly payments while still building equity. There is no reason to become a refinancing junkie as you’ll just wind up spending thousands in closing costs, and paying thousands in extra interest as well.

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I believe this will remain in place for some time until a major event (likely a negative one) pushes the markets into a real move.  The major event could be a soveriegn default or something like a credit downgrade for the US.  Perhaps, it could be a failed Treasury auction.  We will see.

Until then, it makes sense to be patient and stick to your strategy.  You do have a strategy don’t you?

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Raising a child can be an expensive proposition. According to recent statistics from the Department of Agriculture, the average cost for raising a child to age 18 stands at over $260,000. Since this figure is an average, it does not account for those unplanned expenses that can be a severe drain on your finances. Getting your son or daughter to the local elementary school may be easy, but what about when they need to get to college on their own? A car is a necessity, not to mention the astronomical cost of college tuition. Your seventeen or eighteen year old child may be the apple of your eye, but they represent a veritable profusion of expensive investments in both their present and future, especially as parents are just entering the twilight of their careers and looking forward to retirement. How should parents balance these unplanned expenses while simultaneously ensuring a comfortable retirement?

The answer may be a life insurance policy for your teenage child. Some types of life insurance accounts have the option of accruing cash value. In other words, the policy not only becomes insurance in case of death, but insurance in case of unplanned or large expenditure that may not fit your budget. As many parents look towards retirement, they want to ensure that their retirement account is protected against unnecessary risk but also want to ensure its value to be as high as possible. Many retirement accounts lost some amount of value during the economic crash of 2007 and 2008, and the last thing that an account holder needs is an unplanned expense to further drain retirement assets. A permanent life insurance policy may be the key to financial freedom for both parents approaching retirement and children entering adulthood.

Life insurance comes in two distinct forms: term life and permanent life. Term life insurance is purchased for a specific period of time with a renewal option at the end of the specified term. This type of policy only pays a death benefit. A permanent life insurance policy offers more flexibility than a term policy. A permanent policy, as its name implies, has no fixed time limit of coverage as long as your monthly premiums are paid. The main difference, though, is that a permanent life insurance policy builds cash value over time that can be borrowed against. This is done by placing a portion of your monthly premium into a tax-deferred investment account. The policyholder has access to this account after a specified accumulation period after purchase to allow the account to accrue sufficient cash value.

Buying a permanent life insurance policy for your child can be a first step toward financial freedom in retirement. Your retirement savings are protected against the unplanned expenses of raising a teenager and can teach a valuable lesson in financial responsibility. Your son or daughter has the option, once a loan is taken against the account, of either paying or not paying back the account, in which case the cash value is subtracted from the face value of the insurance policy. The risk/reward potential is high, giving a true sense of financial responsibility while freeing your retirement savings from the burden of unexpected expenses.

Written by Joanna Cliff.

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