Best Finance Personal

Many of the Americans who are now enrolled in a debt relief program are there for a reason. Most often, that reason is credit cards. Credit cards are great to have and they aren’t necessarily a bad thing. What is bad is how we have used them. Unless you want to see yourself enrolled in a debt relief program in one or two years, you need a personal finance reality check. Keeping reading on to see why proper credit card use is very important.

* You Pay More with Credit Cards: It is no secret that credit cards are a convenient way to pay, but you always end up paying more. Lets say that you charge a $150 party dress. If you were to use your debit card, pay in cash, or write a check, that dress would still only cost you $150. At the most, you might be charged.10 whopping cents to use your debit card or write a check. But if you use your credit card, think about the interest rate. Add that onto your total. With that said, if you don’t pay off your purchase at the end of the month, that interest rate keeps increasing the cost of your party dress more and more. When all is said and done, you might have paid as much as $200 or $250 for it. That sale you got at the store wasn’t so great after all! Continue reading ‘Personal Finance Reality Check – Can’t Stop Using Your Credit Cards?’ »

Making a commercial property investment is always an interesting decision to make. It’s not good buying a commercial property when there is a recession in progress and it’s not a good time to buy when the economy is booming and the cost of commercial properties are going sky-high. Buying a commercial property at ‘just the right time’ maximises profitability and capital gains and seems to be at the cusp of a rise. The question is, how do you know where this cusp is?

How do you know where this cusp actually happens often depends on experience, judgement and good business information. To get this experience will cost you one way or another but if you do your learning right it won’t break the bank and you will make enough incrementally to keep investing and gaining the buying experience as you increase your commercial investment portfolio.

It will always be a great help if you have a good business network in your area of interest so you have local information about what is planned for your area. Once you know that a development is being considered or talked about you are in in a better position to be an early beneficiary of the project. This does not mean you ever get involved in insider trading or anything illegal but with a bit of imagination you will be able to ’see’ spin-off’s from any new development and position yourself, your property portfolio or other commercial interests accordingly. Continue reading ‘Is it a Good Time to Get a Commercial Investment Property Loan?’ »

To put it simply wealth is the money you don’t spend. If you bring home $275 a week and spend $273; Congratulations! You’re $2.00 Wealthy! If I would have followed my own advice starting back in 1974 I’d be writing this article from the patio of my double-wide in New Port Richey, Florida instead of this dreary suburb of Detroit on a snowy afternoon.

The way to wealth has nothing to do with how much money you make but on how much you spend. In other words the sooner you get your spending under control the wealthier you’ll be. The lifestyle we choose will determine how long, if ever, we reach our goal of financial independence at retirement. There are so many investment vehicles out there that are relatively safe and if you put the thousands of dollars into them, will return many hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of dollars back. But where do you get those hundreds of dollars each month? You determine that by the lifestyle you choose. Continue reading ‘Ride the Bus to Financial Security’ »

Many times, people finding themselves in financial turmoil consult lawyers. They are told that bankruptcy is the immediate solution. However, there are a variety of other options and some of them are frequently overlooked. Bankruptcy is a good option for those who discover that their debt is unmanageable but there are other options to explore. Here are some things to keep in mind when you meet with your Minneapolis bankruptcy attorney.

Debt Settlement

When you communicate your financial difficulties to your creditors, some many give you the option to settle or pay on a payment plan. Some companies will offer debt workouts immediately but others might not offer it until they sense you are about to petition for bankruptcy.

The result is a new settlement amount totaling less than your starting balance. If you owe $8,000, for example, they may give you the option of paying $2,000 for account settlement. Sometimes credit card companies will let you divide up the settlement sum over monthly payments. Continue reading ‘Bankruptcy – Do Alternative Solutions Exist?’ »

The record numbers of bankruptcy filings in the past year have opened the doors for a whole slew of less than qualified “debt consultants” to take advantage of the situation. These people pray on people who are in desperate need of help and promise they can take care of everything. Many time these “consultants” make things worse than they were before. There have even been instances where the consultants have taken money upfront and left town the next day only to leave to people filing out several hundred, if not thousand, and still no where near getting out of debt.

Tip 1: Don’t wait

A lot of times people are hesitant to admit that they need help. They put off going to an attorney until it is almost too late. Doing this does not give the attorney adequate time to prepare you case and file all the necessary paperwork to the courts. The best thing to do is when you think you might need to file a bankruptcy is to go see a bankruptcy attorney. This will make things go a whole lot smoother in the long run.

Tip 2: Ask around

A reference from someone who has gone through the whole process is usually the best place to start. However, many times you will not know too many people who have filed for bankruptcy. Using the Internet can be a good resource for referrals, but understand that Internet reviews are usually slanted. It is proven that people are more likely to post a bad review about a company than a good one. Keeping this in mind, unless they have a large amount of bad reviews across multiple sites an attorney with only one or two bad reviews might not be bad at all. Continue reading ‘5 Tips to Avoid Hiring a Bad Bankruptcy Attorney’ »