My Personal Finance Blog

Are you looking to make some extra income? Or are you looking for a secretive investment with phenomenal returns? Then HYIP’s are not the place for you.

What is a HYIP?

Simple: High Yield Investment Program.

HYIP’s are all over the net. You can see them when ever you search google for investments. They are the one’s that offer you a crazy insane amount of a return. Sometimes even 30 a day. For those who are new to the investment world, those kind of returns just cannot be produced, no matter what.

You might say, “hey, I tried one of those programs and I did receive those returns for several days.” Yes, you’re right, that’s exactly the way they work. They give you the money that fresh blood brings in. This is called a “recycler” program. So you’re talking about several days, several weeks, or if their really good, several months or even a year until they eventually close down and no longer can match the amount of money that needs to flow around to keep the program moving.

Trust me, before you lose you’re money in one of these scams, there are many that have lost their car payments and mortgage payments in these programs. If you don’t believe me you can go to www.talkgold.com or www.scams.com and go to the forums and search invex or ingenious packages, two popular almost legendary programs in the HYIP arena. You see will a list of complaints and stories of how people lost their life savings.

Even though that this is true, they are many people who still choose to invest in these programs while understanding the program is run illegitimately. They consider it pretty much betting or playing a game. Some of these websites are even referred to as games to take away the heat that it would receive if it was named an investment opportunity. The trick is to invest within the first couple of weeks and then run. Many people utilize this tactic because most HYIP’s do not last over a month or two and because with the insane interest rate you can profit within a couple of days.

Even if you have never heard of HYIP’s, trust me they are around and plentiful. Several of these websites open up every day and lure innocent individuals like yourself looking to make some extra income. The amount of these websites are staggering to say the least. You can check out a HYIP monitoring site like www.hyipmonitor.com and see the amount of websites there are and how many are being added on a daily basis. It’s unbelievable to know that these website keep popping up and nobody regulates them.

So You Say How Do I Know It’s A HYIP Program?

Well, it’s never easy to say, but there are few guideline you should follow:

1) Egold

Be careful of programs that require you to send money through this service because egold transactions are permanent and cannot be reversed or stopped unlike Paypal or using a credit card. This is perfect for someone who doesn’t want to provide refunds and just run away with your money.

2) Guarantees

No investment program can provide guarantees or should, mainly because the government will keep their eyes on programs like these and so should you. So when ever you see a guaranteed, “10 return in one week”, run!! Investment markets are volatile and fluctuate from second to second, so the only thing you should except is a chart of the programs history, but even that doesn’t guarantee future success.

3) High Returns

Astronomical returns are a sure sign a company is a scam, 20% to 30% a month should be a red flag for anyone looking for a good investment program. Stocks usually average about 5-7% return a year and the high performing ones may only go as high as 30% percent within one year.

Whenever you do invest. Just make sure you do your Due Diligence on the company or group your investing with. Such as: – Company History – Licenses – Complaints with any bureaus – Complaints on any forum boards – Performance History and etc.

Investing should not be looked as a get rich over night scheme but a way to help your income to grow steadily and continuously.

Article provided by Workat-home.net. A website dedicated to work at home business opportunities and resources

For the homeowner in search of a home equity line of credit the availability of interest-only home equity credit lines has drawn the interest of many who seek to benefit from the value of their homes. The name itself sounds too good to be true. A look at the details could cause the homeowner to think twice before seeking an interest-only home equity line of credit. Or those same details might spur the homeowner to contemplate yet another home equity line of credit.

 

Banks tend to offer the homeowner more than one-way to obtain an interest only home equity line of credit. One bank for example has advertised the existence of one plan whereby the homeowner gives payments that cover the Prime plus 5% for five years. Then in the next ten years, the homeowner pays a floating interest rate, a rate that is determined by the Prime rate.

 

Yet that same bank also offers an alternate way for obtaining an interest only home equity line of credit. Under this alternate procedure the homeowner pays 5.75% APR for one year. Then after that first year the homeowner faces an increase of ¼ % each year until the rate is 6.75% APR. In the sixth year of this particular line of credit the homeowner pays 6.65% every month until the credit line has been paid off.

 

The homeowner should also consider some of the other approaches to the offering of a home equity line of credit. For example, some banks will offer a draw period at the start of the period of the credit line. During this draw period, the homeowner can withdraw funds for making advances, for repaying advances or for advancing the line of credit. The draw period is followed by a period of repayment.

 

Each type of home equity line of credit offers the homeowner a way to reap added benefits from the existing credit line. For example, the homeowner could choose to increase the insurance deductibles, knowing that a line of credit had been made available. The higher deductibles would guarantee a decrease in the premium payments on the insurance policy.

 

A home equity line of credit could also be used to buy discount credit cards at a store of the homeowner’s choosing. In addition, the possession of a home equity line of credit gives the homeowner the ability to make purchases with a Rewards credit card and to then pay the card payment with the check obtained through the credit line.

 

Once the homeowner has negotiated all of the intricacies of a home equity line of credit then that homeowner is ready to use multiple economic tactics in order to make more money from what he has available. He will be ready to prove the old saying: You have to have money to make money.

Ken Charnly is a personal finance publisher whose website Online Loans is dedicated to quality information on online loans. For quality information and for all your online loan needs visit and Apply for Loans Online

The current growth of UK debt is £1million every 8 minutes and we all contribute a Stonking £263 million in interest a day. There is currently 27.4million credit cards transactions made a day with a total value of £1.56billion. The total credit card debt in the UK for September 2008 was £55.7 billion and the average adult in the UK has approximately 4 credit cards, store cards and debit cards.

It is little wonder that we are all looking for the ‘secrets to paying off our credit card debts.’ We make our monthly payment and then find that we paid more in interest than the amount that was reduced off our outstanding balance. Frightening isn’t it!

When you look closely at your credit card statement you will see that the interest rates are somewhere between 0% and 27% per year depending on the provider. The average card is generally around the 17% +/-mark.

The secrets to paying off your credit card debts are:-



Credit card consolidation is the solution of last resort unless it is the only option available to you due to the lack of your disposable income.

Shop around for a credit card provider who offers a 0% credit card deal for the longest period of time. The normal offer is for 9 months or 12 months. Check the providers transfer fees for moving your balance to them and see if you can find a provider with either a lower fee or even better no transfer fee. Make sure that you move the balance to another card at the end of the 0% deal. If you don’t then you will certainly go on their worst interest rate deal. Don’t try and arrange too many 0% deals in the same month as you could find yourself being turned down. Just move one or two cards every other month.

It is also worth considering a credit card with a low interest rate for the term of the balance. But don’t spend any money on it as the interest rate for new purchases will be exorbitantly higher.

If you are paying any Payment protection Insurance then you must see if you can find a cheaper policy to cover all your outstanding cards elsewhere. You should cover yourself for accident, sickness and redundancy with the same cover or better. Then cancel the credit card protection insurance from your credit card.

Move all of your credit card balances to better interest rate deals. Make sure that you move all you highest interest rates onto the lowest interest rate deals first.

Don’t forget you can always ring up your credit card provider and ask what deals they have. It might be a better deal then you are currently on and any deal that is lower than you are paying now is better.

Now you have rearranged your credit cards you should start paying as much as you can comfortably afford off the highest interest rate cards first and the minimum allowed off the interest only cards. Get the highest interest rate cards down as quick as you can. Keep moving those cards to the next best interest rate deal as soon as the last deal finishes until all your credit cards have a ZERO balance.

Once you have cleared a credit card balance completely then cancel the card and move the money you were spending on the card you cancelled to the next card and watch as your balances just fall away.

Start using your debit cards instead of your credit cards and you will find that this will curb your passion to spend on plastic. You will go overdrawn in your bank account if you have not got enough money to cover your purchases. The bank will charge you an overdrawn charge of around £20 to £37 and you will quickly realise that you can only spend what you can afford.

When you have a Zero balance and one credit card left you need to reward yourself you have earned it! What a Result! Congratulations



Now that you are debt free and in control of your finances you may like to try this. You have now qualified as a Master Credit Card Tart. Apply for a 0% credit card. Then withdraw the full amount of credit they have given you and buy National Premium Bonds. Pay the minimum monthly payment allowed. At the end of the 0% deal move the balance to the next 0% deal and so on. Here is the best bit it will never cost you anything and all the winnings are tax-free and all yours courteous of the credit card company. You may just be one of the two lucky £1million Winners that they announce each month. What a flexible friend you now have!

The eleventh secret is you could contact Finance Claims Checker and let them see if your credit card agreements are invalid and unenforceable in law. If they are then they may be able to have your credit card balances written off using their solicitors and the legal loopholes in the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Jenny Austin is a Money Saving Expert , for further information on how to choose your Secured Homeowner Loan , please visit http://talkmoneyblog.co.uk.

What is your credit score?

A credit score or number indicates to lenders how likey you are to repay or default on a loan.

The program used to generate this number is very complex. The bureaus use secret calculating techniques to reach these numbers. There are various formulas used. Basically put, your information is entered into a computer. The program calculates the data information stored by the 3 bureaus , it then produces a number, Your FICO score or Credit score.

One of the biggest problems with the information used is that over 79% of all credit reports contain inaccurate information. This will then effect the actual FICO number. It is imperative that you keep track of the information found on the credit reports and correct any information that is not correct. You may be suffering just because of inaccurate information.

To get the best interest rates your goal should be to have a rating of 720 or higher. By having this rating you can do things like refinance your mortgage at a lower rate, car loans can be obtained at a lower interest rate. You can literally save thousands of dollars monthly, lower down payments for utility deposits, and even have a better opportunity for obtaining certain jobs, (Government Jobs for example).

The FICO range is 300-850

Excellent – over 750

Very good – 720-750

Good / ok 660-720

Could be risky 620-660

RISKY below 620

There are several calculations used for obtaining the FICO number.

35% is calculated based on payment history. Lenders want to know what type of risk you may be. They want to make sure that you can pay your bills on time, based on your past history.

30% is calculated by the amount that you owe. Debt to Credit Ratio (DTCR) is determined by the total available credit divided by the total debt. It is important to try to keep your credit limit to about 30% of the maximum credit allowed.

Total credit avail =$2000.00 / total debt $500.00 = 25 %.

15% is calculated by the by the length of time that you have had the credit. The longer the credit history the better. This factor determines how you have spent over a period of time and how well you paid the debt back.

10% is calculated by the number of new account or nquiries that you have. Inquiries can be looked at as if you wanted all the new debt. That you may be setting yourself up to failure to pay your debt. Also, new accounts do not show enough history, there is no proven payment history to make a determination if you are worthy of good payment.

10% is calculated by the “mix” of credit that you have. The “mix shows that you can handle and manage multiple accounts responsibly.

Other things that are added to the equation of a FICO score:



They looks for things like stability in your living situation, moving frequently may lower your score.

Owning a home may increase you score. Paying your mortgage on time is the most important thing. Do not max out your credit cards. Keep them at least below 50% of the maximum balance allowed, preferably 30%. Limit the amount of cards that you have open. 2-3 is a safe point. More than that may lower you score. Pay your monthly payments on time.



What can happen if you have negative items on your credit report.

Companies can charge you higher interest rates. The higher you are as a risk the more money they can charge,and the more they make. Having a low credit score can also prevent you from getting hired for a job.

Remember “the credit bureau is not your friend”. They work hand in hand with mortgage companies, car loan companies, insurance companies etc. The more interest you pay the more money these companies make. Bottom line.

If you have experienced poor credit there are ways to remedy this. You could hire a credit restoration company. However, just remember to do your homework. There are a lot of companies out there that make claims about doing credit repair and only do what you can do yourself for free. See www.FTC.com. Like sending dispute letters etc. You should find a company that has ties with a law firm or attorneys in their organization. They should have some type of money back guarantee to protect thier clients investment. They should be available to answer your questions. They should be legal, moral, and ethical.

If you find yourself in credit hell give us a call 888-476-1220 or visit our website www.USACreditCure.com for more information. “Helping America one client at a time”

N. L. Wilson is a professional Real Estate investor with over 20yrs experience as well as a highly skilled credit restoration advocate.