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Right now the economy isn’t in very good shape. Banks aren’t lending money, companies are cutting back or failing completely, and people are losing their jobs. The so-called financial experts are telling people that the right thing for them to do is to cut back on their spending, eliminate their debt, and save everything they can. There is one big problem with this idea though. Spending is what drives the economy.

To better understand how money and the economy works, think of money as a form of energy, like electricity, and the economy is like your house. When the electricity stops flowing, your house goes dark. Similarly, when the money stops flowing, the economy goes into recession or depression. The money is still there. When people stop spending then more companies will fail, more people will be laid off, and more people will cut back their spending. It creates an endless downward spiral. Our economy is driven by spending, or the flow of money.

Take a look for a moment at how we got where we are in our economy. There were many causes. People were overspending and relying on credit cards to keep them afloat, mortgages were being sold to people who couldn’t afford them, and other businesses were making bad decisions that put them into peril. Everything came to a head at once and everyone panicked. Houses were foreclosed on, banks stopped lending money, and businesses laid off employees.

Continue reading ‘Your Personal Finances and the Economy – How to Improve Them’ »

Trying to get cash for your business when you have poor credit isn’t as difficult as it used to be. It used to be that if the bank turned you down for a loan, there weren’t many options available. That has changed in the past few years since the business cash advance was introduced.

The idea is pretty simple; eliminate a lot of the risk associated with loans and you are able to fund a greater number of people. In fact; some cash advance providers can approve nearly 95% of all businesses who apply. That is a pretty staggering number when you consider that banks only fund about 10%.

How does a business cash advance work?

Rather than relying on your credit history, they look at your sales history as the basis of the advance. More specifically your businesses credit card sales. Once they determine a monthly sales average; they advance you money based on that monthly average. Once you are funded; your credit card processor is set up to automatically use a percentage of your credit card sales to pay them back.

Continue reading ‘Who Says You Can’t Get a Business Loan With Bad Credit?’ »

Now, we all know what credit cards are, and they often rule the consumer capitalistic world that we live in today. In fact, in most developed countries, anyone and everyone will actually have their hands on a credit card, and the world often revolves around this plastic. So what you need to know about credit cards is often in the thick manual that they give out to you, but is that all that you know about credit cards? You need to know that there is much more information that you do not know when it comes to this plastic little entity that you keep in your wallet.

This is why this article is here to address one of the aspects of the credit card that most people and banks would like that you do not know about. Remember that the al mighty credit card is the main way that banks are making money from their consumers. Interest rates are actually earning banks millions of dollars a month, and you need to be able to find a way to negate this. This article will be talking a little on the credit card balance transfers and the things that you might be interested in knowing about this.

Continue reading ‘The Truth About Credit Card Balance Transfers’ »

There are a number of indicators across the continent pointing to a slowdown of the Australian housing market. At least this is what a recently released report says. The bi-annual report was developed from a survey of 26,000 bank customers by JPMorgan and Fujitsu.

The chief conclusion of the report is that the home lending market is set to end a 20-year period of uninterrupted double-digit growth. It also makes clear the fact that more and more Australians are choosing forgo a mortgage payment.

Looking at the research in the report you can see that there are two main reasons that have caused many Australians to reconsider their approaches to housing. Higher interest rates and general living costs both conspire to cut the legs out from under the native mortgage markets over the last couple of years. Continue reading ‘Signs Point To Slowing Australian Housing Market’ »

Bank of America is one of the top largest banks in North America. It has been ranked No. 1 in The Banker Magazine Top 1000 World Banks ranking. The bank was named best consumer Internet bank in the United States by Global Finance magazine as part of its “World’s Best Internet Banks” competition. In addition, Global Finance magazine gave Bank of America awards for the best information security initiatives, best bill pay and presentment, and best online consumer credit in North America.

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company and one of the leading banks in the region. It provides a wide range of financial services including banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, consumer and commercial finance through across North America and internationally. Wells Fargo & Company was named Best Consumer Internet Bank and Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Bank in North America by Global Finance in 2010. Continue reading ‘Largest Banks in North America’ »

A free student checking account is a great way for students to gain understanding to the financial journey that is ahead of them. Any student can tell you that they are living on a shoe string budget, every dollar counts and they for sure do not need to be laying out even ten dollars a month. Those ten dollars can mean the difference between eating a burger and eating another bowl of noodles.

Banks are savy when it comes to drumming up business. They know that a student is a good risk, they want to get their business while they are in school with the hopes that when they graduate they will stay with the bank and be wealthy enough to make substantial deposit. Continue reading ‘Finding a Free Student Checking Account’ »

So you have filed all of your papers with a bankruptcy lawyer and learned that the bankruptcy will stay on your credit record for at least the next ten years and you are feeling a little depressed. Everything in your financial life has been affected including your chances in the near future of getting a mortgage or car with a low interest rate. What do you do now? As odd as it sounds to some people many banks and companies out there want to do business with you, which in turn can help you start your financial life over. Increasing your credit score is not always easy, it is going to take some planning, will power, and even a little hard work. The good news is that it can be done.

Credit cards may be what put you into bankruptcy in the first place, but now it is your chance to use them to help you rebuild your credit history. I have a close friend who in 2006 declared bankruptcy, but she has worked hard to build up her credit and now has a very good standing with all three of the credit bureaus. Amazingly enough her credit score last time I talked to her is averaging around 730 for Transunion, Equifax, and Experian, which she thought would never be possible this soon after filing. It is true that she will have the bankruptcy on her permanent record for many more years, but at least she has a chance to get a home, car, or other asset at a decent price sometime in the future. Continue reading ‘Using Credit Cards After Bankruptcy to Boost Your Credit Score’ »

Ten years ago, the economy was thriving, jobs were plentiful and people were buying houses left and right. Banks were powerful entities in the loan empire. The number of banks available to choose from was numerous, and people loved the choices and low interest rates.

Now, our economy is struggling, jobs are lost and people are losing homes left and right. Banks are losing money and many are closing. So what is a bank to do in order to reclaim its rightful place in the loan industry? It merges with another bank- two banks are better than one…right?

November 7th 2009, National City Mortgage adopted the PNC Mortgage name in order to show its new ownership under PNC Financial Services Group. What does this mean? Well this means that the amazing National City Mortgage rates are now the rates available through one of the most trusted names in banking; PNC. Continue reading ‘E Pluribus Unum – Two Become One’ »

With the current economic conditions the way they are, many finance companies and banks are taking active steps to help keep their current customers from losing their cars to repossession. These steps can often involve either extending the time lenders allow before beginning the repossession process or restructuring payments plans to make them more affordable.

According to Rich Apicella, practice manager of Benchmark Consulting which teaches collection agents for finance companies to understand the reason for a person’s delinquency on an account, and then come up with a plan to avoid repossession. “Auto finance sources have an average net loss of about $6400.00 on repossession, so it is in the company’s best interest to keep customers in their cars.” “The first thing is to identify why the customer is delinquent. Is it a job loss, health problem, divorce or decline in income? Once the collector knows what the problem is, he or she can help the customer develop a payment plan. Sometimes, this requires an extension in the payment plan, other times they delay the next few payments and other times they help negotiate a short sale of the car,” says Apicella. Continue reading ‘How Finance Companies Are Easing Policies to Prevent Repossessions’ »

Interest is defined as ‘A fee charged by a lender to a borrower, for the use of borrowed money, usually expressed as an annual percentage of the principal amount.’

Interest is determined by a Repo rate that’s set by the Reserve Bank of South Africa – this rate is the interest rate at which the Reserve Bank lends other banks money. When there is an increase or a decrease in interest rates, it is the result of the Reserve Bank adjusting this Repo rate. Banks and other financial institutions generally add to this rate when lending money to you – to make a profit. Basically – interest is a charge levied on the transaction of borrowing money.

How is interest created?

Most interest comes from people who make large purchases, such as buying homes cars, or paying for education. Generally they take out a loan, such as a home loan or student loan to do this. Interest is also generated on short term financing, or on smaller purchases – such as loans, or purchase on HP from retailers, or on credit cards. Continue reading ‘What is Interest, And How Does it Affect Your Borrowing?’ »