My Personal Finance Blog

The first rule when applying for banking and credit services is to always read the fine print and to understand all of it. Read up, take it home, and analyze it, ask the banking manager questions. The fine print is there for a reason. The charges and requirements contained in there, will affect the savings or added expenses you incur, whenever you bank or use credit.

Checking Account

You can generate savings of more than $100.00 a year, when you select a checking account with a low or no minimum required balance. Request a list of the fees that are applicable to your account and compare with other checking account offers. Read the fine print. See if you qualify for the conditions and stipulations, the bank requires.

Savings account

Prior to opening a savings or investment account with the bank of your choice, ask the bank and check to see that the account is insured by the federal government (FDIC or NCUA). Otherwise, you will assume 100% of the risk; you may end up risking more rather than saving.

Certificates of deposit or treasury bills or notes. These certificates and notes are accurately called forced savings. They earn above average but only after, they’ve reached a maturity period. If you withdraw before the due date, you’ll incur penalties. This is a competent way to generate savings from funds you have no immediate need for.

Once you’ve selected the type of savings or investment products, compare the rates and fees offered by different institutions. These rates can vary a lot and, over time, can significantly affect interest earnings.

Credit Cards

You’ll generate more savings by researching on credit cards. Or you can call a research credit firm that will for a modest fee; send you a list of low-rate credit cards. Use the list to compare the features of each of these credit card companies, according to their interest rates and billing cycles. Is it a 28 day billing cycle, or a monthly one? What are the freebies? Such as Cash back or airline miles offers. Will you use these? You could be paying for these in the form of higher interest rates.

If you have a credit card, practice the habit of paying off your entire bill at months’ end. You generate savings by not paying late payment or over-the-credit-limit fees, which will add up to bigger charges.

If you have a lot of credit cards, consider using only one or two credit cards.

In the long run, your research on banking and credit services, will pay you back well in terms of consistent savings.

The new CARD consumer credit protection act takes effect Feb. 22-and, in my mind, not a moment too soon.

The past few months have produced an appalling feeding frenzy by credit card companies raising interest rates through the stratosphere while they still can, cancelling accounts, reducing credit limits-all in anticipation that the brakes will be put on when this new law takes effect.

Now, hopefully, this behavior will now slow down.

One of my companies recently reduced my credit limit from $9,500 to $500 just because I hadn’t used the card for a few months. I decided to vote with my feet since they had initiated a hit to my credit score, I’d just bite the bullet and say goodbye to them.

The new CARD act doesn’t mean that your credit card company can’t still put the screws to you, but there are some limits.

Here’s what you get starting next week:
You must get 45 days notice before interest rates can be raised on future purchases. Interest rates on existing balances can’t be raised unless you’re in default for 60 days. Monthly statements from now on will tell you how many years you’ll be in debt if you only make minimum payments. Annual fees, if any (look out for them) cannot be more than 25% of the card’s limit. If you have more than one interest rate on your account, anything you pay over the minimum balance will be applied to the highest rate first. But beware, if you only pay the minimum, the money will still be applied to the lowest rate first. Teaser rates on new cards must be honored for one year. Credit won’t be extended to people under 21 without a co-signer, except in very specific circumstances.

Recently, a piece of legislation was passed that allows consumers to reclaim PPI payments and interest in certain situations. The law is fairly sweeping and holds banks, lenders and credit card companies responsible for clandestine sales of the insurance. What I want to tell you is that claiming PPI refunds id easier than you think it is.

 

Payment protection insurance, or PPI, is usually attached to any type of loan or borrowing contract. This applies to basic loans, credit cards, mortgages and other types of borrowing situations. Until recently, many of the lending companies were selling this coverage to consumers as an add-on without disclosure. In some cases, consumers were not even aware that they were purchasing the coverage.

 

In that interest, the new legislation makes it possible to file a claim for PPI refunds as far back as 6 years. The claim can be done yourself or through a consumer rights firm or agency. The good news is that getting PPI refunds is easier than you think. It is a simple process of determining that you were either mis-sold PPI or was not aware of the terms or that you even HAD insurance.

 

All that is required is proof that you did not have full disclosure of the sale and you’re on your way to reclaiming that money. All the firms that are providing this service are doing it on a basis of no upfront fees or costs to start the process. In addition, in the occurrence that your PPI refund is denied or lost, you do not have to pay the firm anything. The attorneys get paid ONLY if they are successful.

 

Using a firm to reclaim PPI monies means that PPI refunds are easier than you think to get. Since the attorney firms get paid only if they win the case, they are very adamant about preparing the case and pleading your cause. This alone makes PPI refunds easy to file for and receive.

 

It is possible to file the claim yourself, but the process may be a bit more timely and costly overall.  Another piece of good news is that even if you have begun the process on your own, you can still involve a consumer rights firm. Believe me when I say that getting PPI refunds is a simple process and will cost very little in the big picture. This is especially true if you can go back several years and reclaim the money.

 

PPI refunds can be claimed back for several reasons, including, but not limited to:

 

Being unaware of purchasing or being sold PPI. Full disclosure not being made at the time of purchase. If you were sold PPI that you do not need. If you were sold PPI without knowing the costs and terms of the policy. If you were pressured into the purchase. If you were misled to believe that you would receive a better rate with a PPI purchase.

 

Any of these conditions can make PPI refunds a reality for you. Look into it today and put some of that money back where it belongs; in YOUR pocket!

There are a few things to know before adventuring on to taking up a payday loan. I have attempted to list those that I feel will be relevant and of course as you move through the process of undertaking a payday loan you will no doubt learn more. Be wary of rushing in on a whim and you should be ok. Too many people have taken out a payday loan and other loans when they could have managed without just by waiting and saving a little longer. Having said that, a payday loan can also quite often get you out of trouble s well.

Firstly, let me say that instant payday loan companies can help you out of a troublesome situation by offering financial assistance until your next pay comes around. Nearly all payday lending options come with a cap. That cap is most often around $1,500 on the amount of money borrowed. On your initial payday loan, you will often have a lower limit until you have shown you can pay back the loan punctually. If you are reliable, you will probably be able to borrow more money from there on. of course, other restrictions may apply when trying to obtain this kind of instant loan.

A lender may require you to meet certain income requirements or ask you for verification that you have been at your current job for a specific length of time, and they may also require you to have a checking account. When you apply for instant payday loans online, the money is credited directly into your bank account. When the payment is due, the lending company will deduct the payment from your checking account. There is an extension fee every time you cannot make your payment and you choose to roll it over to the next pay period instead.

Normally, the fee charged is lower than the interest rates on credit card accounts. You can use instant payday loans to pay off credit card balances instead of incurring high interest rate fees on them. If you miss one payment or have several late payments, some credit card companies will raise your annual percentage rate. Take note that when using this service, be sure that you can afford to pay the money back on time. Many times a payday loan will come with the option of rolling over your balance, but you will end up incurring more charges than you originally planned. It will be more difficult to recover from the cash flow problems that prompted you to take out the loan in the first place.

It is possible to attain payday loans from other places other than the internet. There are many different companies located all over the USA and also in countries abroad. In small towns, companies that offer this kind of lending service are popping up everywhere. This can indicate that most consumers are living from paycheck to paycheck with no real spending plan nor emergency savings fund. Instead of reserving the need to use instant payday loans for true emergencies, many consumers use them to compensate for bad money management. Some people refuse to admit they have got themselves in a pickle, but I assure you that it is a smarter person who does realize it and makes adjsutments to their life accordingly. Think carefully before undertaking a payday loan or any loan in fact.

Looking around the US economy right now. Homes have been foreclosed, bankruptcy looms on private debts and the retirement 401ks have taken a serious hit. Life as we knew it has been turned upside down without anything in place to catch us as we fell. So how did we get into this mess? The economists tell us we have been living beyond our means. Credit was cheap and, with banks and credit card companies raising their borrowing limits, there seemed to be nothing we could not afford. There was no need for savings. Everything could be charged. If the limit was reached, the housing equity could be released as cash. Over a period of about twenty years, we switched from a country that saves to a country that spends on credit. In the period just after World War II, we had “prudence”. People mostly paid cash for what they wanted and, if they did not have enough, they saved. It was a revolution when, suddenly, everything could be paid for in affordable monthly instalments. In one sense, this is the easiest way to get into serious debt without noticing. When you only pay a few hundred dollars every month, it hardly registers the total debt is tens of thousands.

Insurance companies were the last of the hold-outs. For years, they insisted everyone should pay them a lump sum once a year. Then, slowly, there was a cave. First it slipped to every six months, then quarterly. Now almost every company across the nation accepts monthly. What’s the problem for the insurance companies? Well, they estimate the likely total cost of the claims they will have to pay over the next twelve months and divide that amount between all the policy holders as the premium. If the company has done its sums properly and everyone pays once a year, the company always has the cash in the bank to pay out on all the claims. If people pay monthly, they can easily change to another insurer. They can miss one month’s payment when the family budget is under pressure. That means the insurer may not have enough money to pay the claims. So, to encourage all you people with some savings (or some slack on your credit cards), they offer discounts if you agree to pay every six or twelve months. It gives them more security and saves you some money. Paying monthly costs you the most.

That said, paying monthly gives you flexibility. You can use the online search engines to find auto insurance quotes at the lowest price. Then for just one month’s premium, you can be driving. In effect, this becomes a monthly policy. You can keep shopping around for new premium offers from different insurers. If you find a better monthly rate, you can transfer at the end of the month. But if you pay once or twice a year, the insurer will hit you with high cancellation charges to lock you in. Whatever you might save disappears. Worse, if you change the make and model of your vehicle during the longer policy term, it can be too expensive to move the policy to a cheaper company. You end up paying the higher premium until the six or twelve months end. So make a wise decision. Auto insurance is never cheap. Avoid making it too expensive.