Thursday, February 24, 2011

Why is it a must to have mutual funds in your investments?


Mutual funds are usually considered as good sources of investments because it comprises of a wide dimension, ranging from low risk to high risk options; it is also the reason that mutual fund is suitable for all kinds of investors. Those investors who have recently come out of the web of debts and the debt relief programs may not find the high risk funds as a favorable option as the inconstancy in the value of the high risk funds are more compared to the low risk ones. The low risk mutual funds are those which comprises of the banker’s acceptance and the treasury bills, while the high risk ones are those which invest in equities and stocks of companies. But why is it a must to include mutual funds in your investments? Let us have a glimpse:

·         The mutual funds are managed by full time money managers who are accomplished with the necessary expertise about the economic trends that will follow and invest accordingly.
·         Mutual funds are known to evade your investment risks by putting your money into a diverse range of investments, so even if one of the investments is faring badly, your money will not go into waste.
·         There are a host of benefits which are provided by the mutual fund companies like automatic reinvestment and systematic payments etc which will provide you with the option of reinvesting in dividends and capital gains; this on the other hand will help you to buy more mutual funds.
·         Mutual funds can be started even if you may not have too much of funds because only the initial payments are more which gets reduced at a later stage.
·         Moreover the mutual funds can be sold at any time to obtain liquid cash.
Mutual funds are therefore the best form of investment particularly for the beginners.


Things that could kill your credit score


If you have been lucky enough to get a free copy of the FICO credit score, you should be aware by now that the lenders know about your financial status. But have you ever imagined that there could be various ways in which you can kill your credit score? Understanding credit scores have been a source of perennial problem for the American consumers. Until recently they were deeply troubled by the debt burdens which kept them hooked to the various debt relief programs; debts are one of the many reasons to have a bad credit score. But there are several attitudinal sins which can but kill your credit score:
·         The first sin is that of failure to pay bills. Paying the bills on time can help you to avoid credit score disaster and it is something that cannot be left as delinquent.
·         An attitude of neglect if applied towards checking credit scores would mean that lenders are sharing information which you do not know. Ideally it is mandatory to check your scores and update yourself about the same.
·         The worst habit or attitude whatever you can call it is that of postponing the payment of bills. What the consumer fails to understand often is that when the bills are paid on time it will help them to avoid hundreds of hassles regarding their finances. Moreover a good credit score can allow an individual to hold his head high in the society.
·         Closing the accounts can be the greatest sin as old credits can actually allow the creditor to have a broader view about your payment habits.
·         Too many accounts can wreak havoc as the lenders often get a bad idea that the consumer is simply trying to access instant cash.
·         None of the accounts should be maxed out as it makes the lenders suspicious about your repaying abilities. Moreover the credit utilization should never exceed the amount of credit which is available.
Credit score is your responsibility entirely and in no way should you hand it over to a third party or any other company.Therefore, good habits and patience will definitely give a boost to your credit score.


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Financial resolutions for the year 2011


The last few years have completely changed the way in which American citizens have viewed their finances. The credit crunch and the recession have forced the consumers to have a sharp focus on saving money and planning for the future as a lack of these have pushed them towards an array of financial irregularities. It later emerged as the greatest cause of anxiety which the citizens have witnessed during recession as a majority of them had to utilize credit card debt management services to resolve their monetary obligations. But lately, even the young people in the twenties have started thinking about their retirement plans and have begun to handle money more wisely. Here is a list of the financial resolutions for the year 2011:
  • §  A financial plan is the first take for this year and it is of prime importance as it allows the consumers to have a look at their financial goals both long and short term; for instance, the goal of resolving the debts. A good and solid financial plan may constitute the first step towards financial independence and help the consumers to have an easy and effortless life with their finances.
  • §  It is worth considering, that a budget should not be always meant for saving money. It should have a similar effect on the expenses as well, which will help the consumer to decide and make the right purchases, whether it is a grocery item or a financial product.
  • The one goal which should remain constant is to save more and spend less. The same will act as a better safeguard during financial disasters or to pull up the sudden arrival of some expenses which are unexpected.
  • §  Due to extreme competitiveness in the job market which is coupled with a series of layoffs occurred during recession, it becomes important that the career goals should fall in place. Thus it is not only important to make oneself valuable to the employer, but it is also mandatory to stay competitive in the job market.
  • §  The last but not the least of financial planning is to save for retirement and the earlier it is started, the better it is.

These are few of the trends of financial resolution for the year 2011 which will help the customers to sail through the tough times with an utmost ease.
Bookmarking description: The consumers should have a set of strong financial resolutions to save themselves from the intermittent problem of debts.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

When the Issues Related to Money Turn into Ego-Battle between Spouses


The passage of time often brings in added existential dilemmas and complications in life, and money plays a very dicey and tricky role in this aspect. The recent financial wounds caused by debts and other financial downturns has touched all our worlds equally and made us turn to various debt settlement companies and debt management programs in order to re-shape our distorted face of personal finance and to put together the scattered pieces of financial security. Since ages we have run and chased money to debt at times and at worst moments, monetary issues have seeped into our familial life as well, and at many times, it has wrecked havoc in marital lives; sometimes in form of ego hassles and at times in form of financial deficiencies. Till now you must have read many blogs related to financial deficiencies which damages marital bliss and understanding between couples and partners due to several forms of economic stress and financial insecurity but very few people read about the most common threat posed by money-related aspects in married couples or partners, and that is the ego hassles between them. We are living in a century of complete gender parity where both men and women are equally positioned as professionals, as well as personal domain.

 It has thus been noticed several times that disparity in income earning and slightly unequal material possession by either of the partner creates an environment of envy, ego and latent feelings of complex on the partner who is comparatively falling behind the other one in terms of income generation and wealth building. This situation generally occurs at home where both the partners are equally ambitions and career-driven, apart from belonging to the same professional field which leads to subtle competition between each other resulting into professional resentment and personal self pride, if not checked at proper time. For example the recent conditions of debt had brought a curse called recession which saw many people jobless and unemployed and there appeared many homes where the male counterpart have to sit back at home in search of a new employment prospect, while the female partner somehow managed to retain her source of income. At such cases, the infamous male ego triggered by a feeling of financial loss and insecurity starts playing dirty to loosen the chords of marital faith and maturity between partners. Numerous such anecdotes can be found around you where money and wealth have played a critical role in imbibing ego tussles between partners. But above all, everyone should remember the fact that at such financially turbulent times, money and its assistance is much more important as any decent source is much more important than the fact that the woman of the house is earning it for the family.






Friday, February 4, 2011

The Much-Needed Equilibrium between Greed and Gratification


To explain the current economic crisis, we need to examine various internal and external aspects of the national and personal financial states like the consequences led by debt and the relief and solutions provided by debt care options like debt management programs and debt Settlement Company etc. The language of psychology however, helps to address the fact behind the economic decline in a most interesting manner using the theory of hitting a balance between one’s greed and gratification. It has been noticed an umpteen times that people often pay no heed to fine-tuned economic models and ideals by doing irrational things, which are certainly not in their best interest and are importantly guided by emotions and lack of equilibrium, as they are often confused about whether to be greedy and acquire money without considering other aspects like ethics, humanity or principles or to stay gratified with whatever they own by being indifferent to the all available and possible ways and sources of extra income.
Falling short of a well-balanced thought process or an appreciable decision-making ability is nothing new with people who are more desperate than determined to acquire wealth and as a result they miss out the much required wisdom and enlightenment which are necessary to give us guidance towards the right path of gaining prosperity through financial freedom and security. As a result we are unable to take the mid-path of co-utilizing a healthy proportion of both greed and gratification that would complement each other in order to help us retain our sensibility and sanity in the race of wealth acquisition. Instead we are either being too greedy to control our sense of right and wrong in the pursuit of financial power or choosing to be too gratified with our limited sources of income and ignoring all added possibilities of money-making. One of the major causes behind this failure of balance is our own misleading ‘emotions’ which has not only led America to the recent economic deficit but is also keeping the damages intact for a long time. Thus when it comes to national or personal financial status, we forget to harness our instinct or intellect but take shelter in our emotions and on ‘how we feel about the entire situation’. And this undisciplined and misbalanced mindset is keeping us from achieving our financial goals which is possible only when we successfully harmonize both our greed and gratification.
 




Wednesday, February 2, 2011

This year is great to start your own business


There cannot be no better time to start your business than this year at least. As by this time probably many of you may have come out of the evils of the debt cycle which had begun with the onset of recession. All of you who have been consulting the best debt management programs till now, can actually think of giving a boost to your finances particularly those who have been victims of a job lay off. Initially when you try to conjure images of a business ownership, you may visualize the problems and hassles of funding, securing the business and paying for the materials which may seem as the major obstacles in the way of your dreams, but you are certainly wrong, as being a business owner will actually get you rid of the concerns that you may experience before asking for a raise from your boss to put it simply. So the important thing is the need to remain focused on your goal before being pessimistic about the risks.
For the first timers however, starting with your own business can be exciting because you may finally give up your fears of being laid off and simultaneously you can think of your business as a form of career insurance and you will surely have all the authority to work for yourself rather than for somebody else. According to a study, the average time for which a person can serve an organization is four years, after which they are handed pink slips. Moreover there are many organizations which do not comply with the benefits which they had promised in the beginning and do not treat their employees with sufficient respect which at times can be highly embarrassing. But as soon as you will gather momentum on your efforts to start a business, you will start to get more productive and eventually experience the rewards of your hard work. The aspect of self success was perhaps never ever looked with the required value by your previous employer as what you can experience in your own business, apart from the financial benefits that you can enjoy. So what are you waiting for? Did you ever think of this option as your resolution for this year? As they say “Better late than Never”!