If you have decided now is the time to get rid of the debt, there are several steps you can take:

1. Decrease your expenses.  Look back on credit card statements and your checking account for the last 3 to 6 months to write down how much you spent and on what.  Develop a budget from this and then see if you can cut any expenses.  Sometimes cutting might be painful, such as eliminating cable even though you are a sports enthusiast, but other times the cutting is painless such as simply calling your credit card company and asking for a lower interest rate.
2. Increase your income.  The easiest way to increase your income is to ask for a raise, but that isn’t always possible for every employee.  Instead, you could work overtime if it is available, or, if there are jobs in your field, you could also look for another job with higher pay or a greater opportunity for advancement.
3. Create additional income streams.  Sure you could get a part-time job at a restaurant or a department store, but the hours aren’t that flexible and the jobs often pay minimum wage, which won’t help you kill your debt quickly.  Instead, consider creating a side job based on your skills.  Are you a teacher?  Why not become an online tutor?  Do you like to make crafts?  Open an online store.  You will need to set up a website and find a method to accept credit card payments.  (Companies offering merchant account solutions can help you with this.)  Instead of making minimum wage, you will be making double or triple that amount because of your expertise.  Apply all of the money to your debts.

If you are deeply in debt, it may take a year or more to get out of debt.  However, if you can cut your expenses and develop additional income streams that provide you a good source of income, you will get out of debt that much quicker.

Post by Melissa

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

The Interest Rate

Depending on how you use your credit card, the interest rate can be a factor.  As such, you should always look for the lowest interest rate possible.  There are many ways to look for low interest credit cards, but it is easy to use a comparison site like ratesupermarket credit cards.  That way you can see a lot of options in one place.

For regular spending, the best way to use a credit card is to not pay interest at all by paying your balance off in full each month.

However, another option is to transfer a balance to the card that has the lowest interest rate.  In fact, many cards offer promotional 0% balance transfers, which can help you save money over the time it takes to pay off the balance.

The Fees

Nobody likes paying fees, but it is how credit cards make their money.  As such, credit card companies bury all types of fees into the fine print of credit card agreements.

Make sure that you select a credit card that doesn’t have any excess fees, like annual fees or usage fees.  These are charges that the best credit cards don’t charge, so you should avoid at all costs.

Depending on the services you use, you may also be subject to late fees and balance transfer fees.  Just make sure that you are paying close attention.

The Rewards

Finally, you should be looking for a credit card that pays rewards.  There are many different types of rewards, including cash back, points, miles, gifts, and more.  When thinking about what type of rewards card interests you, think about what activities you do.

If you like to travel, a card that offers miles or hotel stays could have more value to you than a card that offers points or cash back.

The catch is this: always make sure that you compare the cash value of your “freebie” to what you would earn with a cash back card.  You may find that the cash back card still offers better rewards in the end than other cards.

Post by Robert

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

Statistics in the report show that there are more credit cards in UK than there are people. The credit crunch has stalled growth, but it’s fair to still say, when it comes to choosing a credit card – the choices are endless.

Below are 5 steps to help you find the right credit card deal for you.

1.            Assess your current needs

Is it that you need to transfer a balance? Do you not have enough disposable cash each month? Are you getting a credit card for a holiday? Increasing your shopping habit? The reasons why we might want to get a credit card are endless, and differ per person but it’s important that you are not choosing to get a credit card on a whim. You are potentially putting yourself at risk if you can’t afford the repayments in the long term. Why not talk it through with a close friend or family, or you may even find that your bank will offer free financial advice.

 2.            Work out what you can afford to borrow

You need to make sure that you are not borrowing outside of what you can afford. Obviously, you will be assessed when you sign up for a credit card, but make sure the assessment takes in to account all of your ‘lifestyle’ payments, however flamboyant they may be.

3.            Double check you can’t source money another way

If you are getting a credit card to increase your lifestyle i.e. a mortgage, a holiday or more clothes, then why not reassess your finances first. It may be that you don’t need to get a credit card; instead you could cut back in your current life. Try cutting out that daily cappuccino and you will be surprised how much you can save in a few months by making small lifestyle changes.

4.            Use a comparison site

If you’re sure that a credit card is definitely the right route for your individual circumstance, then you will need to make sure you get the best deal. That’s the best deal financially and also a company that works for you in the right way. Sites such as uSwitch compare credit cards in terms of affordability, API and potential benefits you may get from them. Make sure you take your time, so that you make the right choice.

5.            Look out for added extras

Don’t just look out for the best API, also have a look at what your credit card can do for you. That might be nectar points, airmiles or some credit cards even offer cash back deals at certain times. It is worth reading the small print to check what is right for you

Post by Sarah 

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

Why should you keep an eye on the competition?

Avoid Producing Duplicate Products 

Of course, you want to stay current with trends in your market, but you also want to avoid producing the same product as the competition or having the competition provide a better product than you.  You want to watch what other companies are doing, not to copy them, but to watch trends and know your market.  There are a variety of ways to do this, including using sites that give you company information such as financial records and stock information.

Learn from Your Competitor’s Mistakes

In addition, keeping an eye on the competition is also important because you can see what is working for that company.  Many businesses try different products and ideas, and many of those are failures.  If a competitor’s company is more established than yours, chances are they have already suffered through several failures.   You can learn from them, and hopefully have fewer failures and more successes yourself.

Form a Beneficial Relationship with Your Competitor

However, learning about competing companies can serve another purpose.  You may want to become friendly with the competition.  While this sounds contrary to what you may believe, becoming friendly with the competition can offer ways for you to both grow and flourish.  For instance, in one mid-size town, there are two hospitals.  One hospital, Hospital A, excels in heart care.  Rather than the second hospital, Hospital B, trying to compete with the first one by offering heart care, they instead chose to focus on neonatal care.  Now, if someone with a heart condition comes to Hospital B, they are often referred to Hospital A and vice versa with neonatal care.  They have an understanding, which helps each of them grow.

If you can recognize what your competitor’s strengths are through their financial records, you can avoid directly competing with them and can instead offer a different layer of service or a different product.  Then, by reaching out to the other company, you can complement one another’s products rather than compete, which will ultimately help both of your businesses grow.

While you may feel devoting your time to internal concerns is important to your business, that shouldn’t be your only focus.  You will also want to learn about the competition to learn what products they successfully produce, to perhaps enter a “friendship” with them, and to learn from their mistakes.

Post by Melissa

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

An IVA can be the right solution for some people but it is a legally binding contract which has serious implications and is not something which should be taken lightly. In order to decide whether an IVA is right for you, it’s important to understand a few key facts.

What It Isn’t

Firstly, an IVA is not simply a way to ‘get out of’ paying off your debts. It is a viable alternative to bankruptcy when you simply cannot continue struggling to meet your commitments. And as with bankruptcy, a black mark is entered on your credit history which can mean that you will find it difficult to obtain credit elsewhere for a considerable period of time. However, if you have been unable to pay your debts, borrowing more money should be the last thing you are planning on.

An IVA is not a debt-management plan, which is no more than an informal agreement to repay some or all of what you owe. An IVA involves the courts and cannot be completed without help from an Insolvency Practitioner (IP). It is always important to get advice from an IVA company before deciding whether to go ahead.

If you proceed, the IP will negotiate with your creditors to persuade them to agree to the deal. 75% of your debt needs to be approved for the IVA to be put in place. If you get this level of agreement then other creditors who have not agreed are forced to accede.

What It Is

Interest is frozen once an IVA has been agreed and a tough assessment will be completed to ascertain what you can afford to pay. Luxuries such as holidays and gym membership will not be allotted any money and you have to commit to sticking to the budget for at least five years. After this time, the debt is usually wiped out.

Despite the claims being made by many companies advertising IVA services, it is not typical to have 90% of your debts erased. You can expect to end up paying around 40p for every £1 you owe – anything less than this and your creditors are unlikely to agree to it.

As a rule of thumb, to arrange an IVA you should have unsecured debts of at least £20,000. Mortgages, rent, government fines, council tax and child maintenance cannot be included in an IVA, nor can any other kind of secured debt. The most common debts include personal loans, credit cards, overdrafts and store cards.

The biggest advantage that an IVA provides is the ability to hold on to key assets such as your house and car. Although creditors can force you to remortgage to release equity (if you have any) they cannot insist you sell your home. And once the debts have been cleared, the restrictions are less prohibitive than if you had been made bankrupt.

For anyone troubled by significant and unmanageable debts, when the threat of court action is a real possibility, an IVA may offer an alternative route to bankruptcy. However, it is not without consequences and it never a decision which should be taken without exploring other avenues first.

This guest post was written on behalf of Saul Malpass who is currently writing on behalf of IVA Expert who are currently trying to promote content throughout the web informing & educating people on how to avoid bankruptcy & stay out of debt

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

When You Should Take Out a Loan

You should take out a loan for large purchases like a home or a vehicle. Most people do not have the money to pay cash for a home or a vehicle. Loans are a popular option in these situations. You can live in the home or drive around in the car but spread out your payment over the next several years. The interest on home loans is often deductible when tax time comes.

You should take out a loan when you have the ability to pay it back. If you have a set income that will cover your loan payments, loans can be beneficial. Remember that if you use the loan for something right away, like a vacation, you will need to be prepared to spend months paying off the trip. Keep your loans affordable.

You should take out a loan when you want to build or improve upon your credit score. If you’ve had some trouble with credit in the past and want to raise your credit score, loans are a good start. Shop around and find a loan with the lowest interest rate possible. Then, make sure that you make the payments on time each month. This information will be reported to the credit companies and, slowly, you will begin to see an improvement.

When You Should Not Take Out a Loan

You should not take out a loan when you have no way of making the monthly payments. This is setting yourself up for failure and could lead to a poor credit score and, if you participated in any of the secured loans programs, you run the risk of having your property repossessed.

You should not take out a loan when the monthly fees and APR are much higher than some of your other options, even when the deal seems great. Loans often come will all types of benefits that sound way too good to be true. In some cases, these incentives are trying to distract a potential customer from looking at the fees and APR associated with the loan. If it sounds too good to be true, don’t sign anything. Take some time to read through all the information.

You should not take out a loan for a friend of family member. It can be tough to say no but remember that a loan affects the credit score of the applicant. This means that if the money is not paid back or the payments are late, you are the person that will be affected. If the friend or family member’s name is not on the loan, they are not responsible; you are.

post by Katie

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

There are a number of aspects of your financial life that you should reevaluate before you make the big leap:

Emergency fund.  How large is your emergency fund?  Self-employment typically comes with erratic income.  One month you may make double what you did the month before, and the next month you may not have enough money to pay your basic bills.  A 6 to 8 month emergency fund (or more) can help you handle erratic income.

Mortgage.  If you are planning to buy a home in the near future and have some money set aside for the home purchase, you may want to buy it now, before you become self-employed  because home loans are difficult for the self-employed to obtain.  You can use online mortgage calculators to help you determine the monthly mortgage payment you can afford.  If you do decide to buy a home before moving to self-employment, make sure you leave yourself an ample emergency fund to cushion yourself against variable income.

Health insurance.  One of the largest expenses of being self-employed is health insurance.  If you have a spouse with health insurance, it may be wise to join that policy.  If not, you should have the option of COBRA insurance for up to 18 months from the employer you are leaving, but those policies can be expensive.  You can also apply for independent health insurance, which may be more reasonable depending on your age and health.  A good health insurance broker can help you consider different policies and premiums.

Business contacts.  Ideally, before making the leap to self-employment, you have been working nights and weekends to build up your business and clientele.  Many experts recommend that you have your side business bring in a significant amount of income before you make the leap to working on your own.  Business contacts are also important as they will help you grow your business when you are self-employed.  They can also help you find the social contact you may miss when you leave your day job and work independently.

Contemplating working on your own is exciting.  However, there are many benefits your day job provides such as health insurance, that you must put in place before you quit.  In addition, make sure you are in a healthy financial state so you can weather ebbs in income.

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

If you will have to incur student loan debt to be able to afford college, the best thing you can do for yourself is to pick a career field that is secure and has the potential to have a high salary.  Once such field is corporate banking.  Corporate banking for large U.K. and U.S. institutions involves making short-term and long-term investing decisions as well as analyzing cash flow management for the institution, to name just a few tasks.

To enter the corporate banking field, you generally have to have a bachelor’s degree, ideally from a top business school.  However, an MBA is not a necessity.  Many larger corporations have corporate banking training, so you may be able to take part in that training once you obtain an entry level position.  Expect to work at least five years at the entry level position before moving on to a higher position with more responsibilities.  That means before you are 30, you could obtain a higher level position with a higher salary.

While the field of corporate banking was hit by the economic downturn in 2007, the market is rebounding, and corporate banking jobs are once again becoming plentiful as businesses slowly have more money to spend and invest.

If you are a freshman or sophomore college student, think carefully about the degree you will pursue.  While it may be romantic to pursue a philosophy or an English degree, the simple fact is that these degrees will not make you much money if you don’t continue to get a Master’s or Ph.D.  Instead, you may want to consider a field that will allow you to make a decent salary just starting out with your bachelor’s and does not require additional education.  Corporate banking is such a field, and if you are willing to put in your time at an entry level position for a few years and foster corporate relationships, you can continue to advance up the corporate ladder and increase your salary as you go.

Post by Melissa

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

There are ten tips to help save money through the internet:

#10

Buying used items on the internet from places such as Craigslist can save cash. Individuals list items for sale or free; purchasing from individuals can save a lot of money. Pre-items typically sell for about half of regular retail value. Other websites, such as Freecycle, is a community of individuals who list items that are free. Auction sites, such as eBay, also offer a great discount.

#9

Be sure to sign up for promotional emails. While it is undeniable that most companies will send an email every day and most will never be read, they often contain promotional codes. This can save tons of money if coupled with a sale or free shipping offer. On the same idea, “liking” companies on Facebook can also score discounts.

#8

Go to Kanetix to instantly compare real-time car insurance quotes. It is easy to get an instant quote from many of the top insurance agencies. Check each company’s websites for quotes. Once each quote is received, decide what best fits the needs.

#7

Always search for promotion codes when shopping. Websites such as RetailMeNot or CouponMountain has a wide selection of codes for hundreds of stores. More often than not, a code can be found.

#6

When shopping online, use a cash back site. Sites such as Ebates and Mr. Rebates offer up to five percent cash back on purchases made online. The user can choose to be paid via PayPal or a check. Usually ten dollars is required to receive payment; however, smaller amounts are rolled over into the next quarter.

#5

Learn to do some items by hand. Whether it is learning to sew, make soap, or cook some meals, looking to do some items by hand will save a lot of cash. The markup on restaurant food is about 75%; learning to cook meals ahead and freeze them will save money over always swinging through the drive-thru. Ehow is a great resource to learn how to do just about anything.

#4

Use travel sites such as Travelocity or Hotwire when planning a vacation or other getaway. These sites can save more than 50% as compared to traditionally booking a hotel room or plane flight. When planning a vacation, sign up for local deals from websites such as Groupon or Eversave.

#3

Use savings websites to plan out store trips. Common Sense with Money, Money Saving Mom, and Cha-Ching on a Shoestring are three fantastic resources to maximize savings at a traditional store. Each of these websites has a list of hundreds of both chain and local grocery stores. Drug stores and big box stores are also listed. There is a list of the week’s sales along with what coupons are applicable.

#2

Save money on gas. Websites such as GasBuddy, show the lowest gas prices in the local area. It is gauged based on zip code. It saves both time and money. However, if one station is traditionally less expensive, it may be worth it to continue using that brand. It is best on the automobile to use only one to two brands or gasoline, rather than switching each time there is a fill up.

#1

The best way to save money online is to use common sense. The general rule is if something is too good to be true, it usually is. Before making a purchase online, look up reviews through basic search engine or a consumer advocacy group. The Better Business Bureau is a great way to look up how reputable a company is.

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.

If you drive a car, you must have a state-mandated minimum amount of liability insurance to protect other individuals in the event of an accident that was your fault. Liability insurance is part of most comprehensive homeowner’s insurance policies. Most people are quite familiar with the above-mentioned types of liability policies but may not be aware of another important type of coverage used widely by professionals.

Professional liability insurance provides coverage for individuals that perform professional services. There are a number of different industries where giving the wrong advice or making a mistake is very serious. While no one is going to sue a McDonald’s employee for forgetting to put the secret sauce on a Big Mac, they may very well sue a surgeon for bungling a simple operation.

Doctors are a classic example of a specific group that requires medical professional liability insurance. The risks of practicing medicine without this type of insurance are just too great. Certain specialties such as obstetrics and surgery are always susceptible to lawsuits filed by injured patients.

Attorneys, accountants and even stock brokers may need to purchase professional liability insurance to help transfer the risk of liability claims. An attorney might give bad legal advice or fail to file the proper paperwork on time that results in damage to their client. An accountant could create liability by acting outside the bounds of standard accounting practices while preparing a corporation’s annual report. Stock brokers have been sued in the past for churning accounts and putting clients in completely inappropriate investments.

While there is a certain amount of protection available through a general business liability policy, it is not always adequate to cover an individual professional’s personal liability risk. Policies can be expensive depending upon the degree of risk, but working without insurance coverage can be much more expensive.

©2012 BigMoneyWeb. All Rights Reserved.