Fresh Ideas

Archive for the ‘Business and Finance’ Category

Whenever you describe something about mortgages, the term foreclosure will surely follow. Myriad American households are thinking of foreclosures on mortgages because of unemployment. Mortgage problem is one of the major issues in the ongoing economic crisis.

Mortgage is defined as committing your property to a bank as collateral for a loan when buying a house. When you fail to pay the bank on your monthly amortization, then the bank has the right to seize the property.

Refinancing your mortgage erase your present mortgage, but also signing a new loan to have a lower annual interest. This is essential so that you will pay off a great part on the principal, rather than paying more on the interest, and this surely will burden you in the long run.

Many are resorting to loan modification rather than applying for refinancing. It’s simply applying this from your lender or bank to change or modify your loan so that it will be much easier in your part to pay off your monthly amortization. One requirement is that you need to be able to justify the financial hardship that you are encountering, and by that means there should be documented proof and you are at least 3 months behind payment but have not yet filed for bankruptcy.

It is really hard for most of us to be burdened financially on our mortgage and other debts. But of course everyone should make a way not to let this dampen your hopes and be positive that we can all survive this crisis.

Can someone tell me now if they know anyone that didn’t receive any marketing or advertising message from their mobile phones these days? I think no one can answer that.

Almost all of us who have mobile phones one time or another received text messages from their provider a promotional service, freebies or something like that.

Mobile advertising and marketing is not new to us. This is a very good form of marketing campaign because mainly people nowadays could not get out of their homes without their mobile phones.

Usually, the Mobile Marketing Company is the wireless carrier or telecoms company who send us this kind of messages regarding their running promos and other marketing stuffs. I for instance get annoyed sometimes if I didn’t like what I receive from them, and sometimes I appreciate what they send me because I could really use it or is beneficial for me.

Actually it depends on the target audience if a marketing campaign will be successful or not, and it is not different in mobile marketing. Advertising something within a specific group for a certain niche could be very well accepted; however, if it was sent over and repeated several times, it will appear spammy and potential customers could be annoyed.

Advertising on a Mobile Marketing Company could be very beneficial to your company if you wanted to be successful in your marketing campaign because just like what I mentioned at the beginning of this post, majority of the population now are carrying mobile phones, and more likely your advertisement will be read and noticed.

One of the most sought after type of business venture nowadays is franchising. Business process that is ready-made. Tried and tested methods. These lure ordinary people without proper training or experience in putting up a business in the field of entrepreneurship.

Opportunity in franchising is not that hard to grab anymore. There are so many business entities that offered franchising. This is one way of companies to expand. Get good capital and get a foothold on their niche market on certain locations that the parent company never realized on putting up a branch.

And one topic always pops out of our mind whenever we had a chance in talking money matters, and that is undertaking franchising. This kind of industry really intrigues us. We normally get excited talking about it and dream that we could one day own a franchise of any business of our choice. Of course, this business should really represent us, a business we love.

For me, one restaurant that I really like eating out is in Subway restaurant. I’m a sandwich addict and their sandwiches are by far most the best in my palate! And I cannot justify it enough that one franchise that I would really love to have, if given the opportunity is to have a Subway Franchise of my own. Now, wouldn’t it be great to have a franchise of your own that you know will earn at the same time having fun managing it because you are really into its product!

Just like what I post in the headline, G-7 financial leaders guarantee to take all necessary steps to unfreeze credit and money markets to prevent a global financial meltdown since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Germany and France endorsed the plan of the United States to buy equity stakes in a very broad variety of banks and financial institutions.

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted within 1,000 points before closing last week. On Friday, investors’ loss came almost to $100 billion.

Panic is the cause of this turmoil, the Financial Times reported this last week. Many investors panicked and sell that prompted the crash in the stock market last week.

The unstable swing in the stock market this past two weeks reminded us a lot like what happen in October 1929 when the Dow Jones industrial average gyrate sharply on October 23, Wednesday, and then came to a free fall the next day and it became known as “Black Thursday”.

The next day, a banker tried to save the day by buying shares in steel, and everyone thinks that this will help start the rebuilding of the market; however, the following week, seems to be much nastier than before because there seems to be no one interested to buy anymore and everyone were selling.

The index crashed by 13 percent and after that, the market took a beating again for another 12 percent. By early November, 50 percent was lost in the stock market’s value and many Americans saw their wealth slowly disappeared.

And what will you expect for the normal employees to experience? Of course, layoffs, millions were laid offs. Jobless Americans roam the streets. They all expect a dole out from the government to weather those times. If not only for those brave and cunning businessmen and entrepreneurs that tried to succeed, it might last much longer than expected.

Let’s all hope that history will not repeat itself because we don’t want another great depression to be felt by everyone now, because it is really terrible and awful to be in this state of life again.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

Waived registration fee. No annual fees. Zero percent interest for the next six months, or even a year. Rewards points. Free airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, a variety of great brand-name products. Low teaser rates and other deals sound great, until you find out what you’re really paying – if you find out.Who could resist such a deal?

Well, if you’re smart, maybe you.

Enticing offers like these from your bank or credit-card issuer are increasingly filled with traps that can pile on unexpected fees or trigger punitive interest rates, some as high as 35%. True, the details are spelled out in the fine print of promotions and cardholder agreements. You have to be incredibly diligent to avoid the tripwire.

The strategies that follow will help make sure you don’t get caught.

Bait and Switch: The Oldest Trick in the Book

Trap No. 2
Late Payments?: One Strike and You’re Up

You probably know that late payments can prompt your card issuer to increase your interest rate, even of you’re a first time offender. And you may know that some issuers will raise your rate if you’re late paying a bill to a different company altogether – a policy called universal default that is practiced by 45% of banks nationwide.

Trap No. 3
Two-Cycle Billing System: Twice Is Not So Nice

There are plenty of personal or salary loan options available to the desperate consumer, but the hard part comes when you need to pay back the personal loan. If you’re looking to find an easy personal loan, it’s time to figure out what you consider easy.

Before you sign up for a personal loan, be sure you have or will have sufficient funds in your bank account to pay back the personal loan in the future. Failure to pay back the personal loan, bulk amount or interest, can cause you more problems than avoiding the easy personal loan from the beginning.

We all go through tough financial times in our lives, and the existence of a personal loan can ease the burden somewhat. Still, there are times when a personal loan seems like the only option, or you are experiencing a rare emergency situation and the only way to get fast cash is via a personal loan.

Before you think seriously about applying for an personal loan, find out if there is a better way to get the fast cash you need.

Might you be able to borrow the cash from a trusted friend or relative who will not charge interest? A personal loan will eventually need to be paid off, plus a certain percent interest added on top of the initial sum, so make sure you’ll be able to obtain these funds later before you apply for a personal loan.

Sometimes the interest charged on a personal loan will stun and overwhelm you once the dust has settled on the personal loan and it’s time to pay the company back. A good way to figure out if the website is right for you and your needs is to read the FAQ.

The usual saying is that investors should create or focus on their assets and have little debt as possible. Many individuals are now learning that to build net worth through books, seminars and financial gurus that taught, “Managing what you owe” is as important as “Managing what you own.” Therefore, your home-financing strategy should be a key component of your financial plan to ultimately help you build your net worth and get out of the rat race.

Did you know that your mortgage is one of the largest financial transactions you will ever make? That’s why it is important to select the mortgage program that not only meets your home-financing needs, but that also has a potentially positive impact on your financial plan.

As I see it and I think many of you will disapprove this, 15- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are not the best choice in today’s financial environment. The appropriate integration of home financing strategies into your financial plan can actually turn your mortgage into an asset. The right mortgage can help you reduce interest expense, maximize potential tax deductions and avoid disrupting a well-planned investment strategy to help your net worth.

What’s the Advantage of Early Paying Off your Mortgage?

Early paying off a mortgage is often more of an emotional goal rather than a sound financial strategy. Paying down principal early may be financially correct for those who are heavily invested in short-term investments, such as certificates of deposit and money-market funds, if the mortgage interest rate is greater than the return on such investments.

Compare your mortgage interest rate with the rate of return of an investment portfolio. Continue making standard monthly mortgage payments when your investment return rate is higher than your mortgage interest rate.

Pay off your mortgage early when your investment return rate is lower than your mortgage interest rate. However, since mortgage financing is generally one of the least costly sources of funds available, mortgage prepayment may not be financially correct for long-term, active investors. Always compare investment earnings with the interest paid on borrowed funds, and keep in mind that earnings on most investments are taxable, while mortgage interest is generally tax-deductible.

There are now mortgages that allow you to pay only the interest portion for a period of time. A disciplined investor can take advantage of these programs to:

• Maximize potential tax deductions.
• Invest or use the payment savings for other more financially intelligent purposes.
• Lower monthly payments.

I don’t really understand the meaning of investing in stocks, bonds or money market and reading these terms makes me nauseous and vomit. However, I came to read a very good article in MoneySense magazine that completely gave me a good insight on how things are going and how I can understand these in layman’s term.

Actually, this post should have been for a different category, but I think because I already have a category that is all about money, then I should say that it can still fit in.

Let me start by saying that now in these trying times, it is hard to part ways with your hard-earned money to invest in something lucrative that can expand your asset.

Investing in banks nowadays is not making any sense at all, money wise.

Earning money the easy way is very tempting for anyone given the sweet words coming from counselors and advisers.

However, zero or very low risk investment with a very high, and I mean incredibly high return is really nonexistent unless it is a scam.

There are still several investment types that is low to medium risk and give also low to medium returns.

But if you wanted high yield in your investment, you should convince yourself that this kind of investments are also very, very risky and you may or may not gain again your principal.

One good investment is through Government Securities or GS, which is almost risk-free and offered a fixed income instrument for prudent investors.

Investing in GS is considered risk-free because it is a direct and unconditional obligation of the government and the principal and interests are guaranteed, unless the state goes bankrupt which is impossible to happen.

Government Securities type:

The Philippine government issues two kind of GS: Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds. These GS are issued by the Bureau of Treasury. Some government agencies and government controlled corporations may issue securities but are not called Treasuries.

Treasury Bills mature in less than a year with a tenor of 91-day, 184-day and 364-day.

The Treasury Bonds in the meantime mature beyond 1 year. The present five maturities are: 2-year, 5-year, 7-year, 10-year and 20-year tenors. Investors are being paid through semi-annual coupons.

Sometimes, the Bureau issue bonds for small investors for a minimal investment requirement of P5,000, which are called Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) with 3 to 5 years maturity period.

GS are considered low-risk investment, however, the yield is very different in conventional investing process.

The higher the country’s economic situation is, the lower the government will pay for the premium.

The yield however is much better than just depositing it to the bank. Also, one good thing is that you can sell these GS holdings if you suddenly need cash because these are marketable assets. One other good thing is that you may use GS as collaterals when borrowing to a bank.

The average yield of 91-day tenor for T-Bill is 5.895. You may also check the latest Average Yield for T-Bonds through the link on Asia Bond Online webpage: http://asianbondsonline.adb.org/philippines/philippines.php

One thing that you need to take into consideration is that the interest on these investment is subject to 20% final withholding tax.

Dealers of GS requires minimum investment of P100,000 for T-Bills and P1 million for T-Bonds.

There is also another means of investing, which is through Philippines Foreign Currency Denominated Bonds called ROPs. It is a low-risk investment; however, one issue here is that when dollar plunges on its value on the foreign exchange, your earnings will also decrease. ROPs are good investment for OFW and exporters when this thing will happen.

Investing in Tier 2 notes from Banks are also very promising; however, I will discuss it on my other post in regards to that subject.

The action of combining several loans or liabilities into one loan. Put another way, debt consolidation is the process of taking out a new loan to pay off a number of other debts. Most people who consolidate their debt are usually doing it to attain a lower interest rate, or the simplicity of a single loan. Also known as a “consolidation loan”.

Notes:
This is common among companies or people with credit problems (maxed-out credit cards, car loans, student loans, etc.), who combine all their debts into one loan to create greater ease in repayment. In the case of credit card debt, this can often be advantageous since credit cards generally carry a high interest rate.

When a consumer seeks out a home equity loan, they are looking for a loan that is secured by their home. For most individuals, there is a mortgage on a home for many of the first years that they own the home. This type of loan is determined based on the amount of money the homeowner still owes on their home and the current market value of the home if it were sold today. The difference from these two numbers is what the equity in the home is.

The term second mortgage is another term for home equity loan. The terms are used interchangeably. The implication here is that the homeowner is taking out another loan on the home in addition to their current mortgage. A second mortgage is obtained by any lender, not necessarily the lender that holds the first loan.

When a consumer considers this type of loan, it is very important for them to realize that the loan should be purchased only if you are sure that it can be paid off monthly. A payment for the second mortgage will be due each month just as it would be for the first mortgage. Also, this type of loan holds the home as collateral. That means that if the homeowner defaults on the loan, he will likely lose the home in the process.

Defining what a home equity loan is should be something that every consumer does. It can be beneficial to take out this type of loan for many reasons. IT can be used as a method of debt consolidation or one of funding a remodeling of the home. There are many uses for this type of loan and because it comes with such a low interest rate, it can be one of the best types of funding to take out.