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Unlock The Door To Financial Freedom

Adult life will often take people by surprise. Most don’t expect to be thrown into a world of bills, debts, and other money problems. But, the world of finance is a cruel one. And, it doesn’t treat anyone kindly. This makes it extremely important to be prepared for unexpected issues and have the knowledge to set them right. Once you achieve this goal, you will reach a new level of financial freedom that you’ve yet to experience. To help you out, this post will be going through several areas of finance that every adult should consider. And, some ways that can be used to improve your current situation.

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  • Savings

The path to financial freedom starts by spending as little money as possible. Most people will get through a large chunk of their pay within the first few days of getting it. When you have money in the bank, it can be easy to feel like you don’t have to be careful. This will often lead to impulse buying, which isn’t good for anyone. So, when you first start budgeting; it’s important only to spend the money that you absolutely have to. If this means missing out on some luxuries for a while; that’s alright. You can use these items as motivation to get you through the saving. Thinking about what you miss will make it easier to drive yourself to success. The money that you save from this should be put away safely, though.

The money that you save won’t be much use while it’s sat in your account. And, you might find it hard to save without a goal to reach. It’s best to try and save enough money to cover at least three months of living. This will give you more than enough money to resolve most issues before they impact your life. And, this gives you a reasonable goal to reach. This money should be kept in an account that is designed to make a large amount of interest. Most banks will offer small savings accounts, which allow you to have access to your money instantly. These are perfect for most.

  • Debt

Some people will find that their issues are more than just a lack of money. A lot of people have debt to deal with. But, this sort of issue can be very hard to deal with. Thankfully, if you’ve followed the first step to save and put your money away; you’re already on track to start paying off your debt. If you can; you should aim to save alongside repayments. This will mean that you’re making progress in both areas. And, will help you to reach your goals faster, too. A lot of companies that offer loans will also offer you the chance to rework your repayments; if they’re too hard to make. This gives you the chance to get some help with your loan.

Throughout this stage, you have to be very attentive. It’s easy for money to disappear without a trace when you’re not watching it carefully. Money gets spent; then, you will forget about it. And, soon enough, this could make it impossible to pay back your loans. There are loads of tools that can be used to help you to monitor your money. Systems like Quickbooks give you a great chance to get control of your money. And, they’re not expensive to use. Along with this, it’s important to learn when is best to take a loan. A lot of people find themselves in a bad situation with debt because they have to get a loan in an emergency situation.

But, this nearly never has to be the case. If you monitor your money all the time; it will be hard for future issues to slip through the net. You will have a good idea of when you will need the money. Using this sort of practice will help you to predict how much money you will need long into the future. Instead of having to rely on getting money quickly and paying high-rates multiple times; you could get a larger loan to cover everything. Or, if you can see that your current debts are getting to a low enough level; you could consolidate them all into a bigger loan. Having your debts in one big loan will usually mean that you’re paying a lot less interest back. You will only ever have to pay money to one place. And, you will have the chance to spread the loan over a longer and more reasonable period. These are all great benefits to those in debt.

  • Income/Outgoings

There are other considerations that have to be made; when you’re working on your money. A lot of people don’t earn as much as they should for the work that they do. Thankfully, this is easy to check, too. Most countries will have resources available to help you find the average rate of pay for your position. If you’re paid less; you could talk to your employer about a raise. This might not work, though. In this case, it could be worth having a look at some similar jobs. You may find that you can get a very similar job in the area, with higher pay. This could make life much easier for you when it comes to sorting out your money.

To further help with your financial situation, you could also look into some other ways to make some money. Most people have skills or interests that can be translated into income. For example, you might really enjoy playing musical instruments and have the right skill level to teach them. In most places, you don’t need any specific licenses to sell this sort of trade. So, you’d be able to do it freely and easily. When looking for chances like this, it’s best to do loads of research. Most people will ignore most of the options in front of them. But, to get the best chance at making money; you have to take advantage of everything you can.

Sorting out your financial situation won’t be easy. But, likewise, living without enough money all the time will be very challenging. You have to consider which of these lives you’d prefer to lead. If you make a difference now; you’re much more likely to have a comfortable future. If you don’t, though; you’ll be happier now. But, life could get very hard later on.

Bounce Back: How To Recover After A Financial Setback

Life is full of setbacks, and in these uncertain times having just one thing go wrong can set everything off the right track. Whether you’re just starting out after graduation, or you’re a fully established presence in the business world, a financial disaster can impact both your personal and professional life. When these setbacks occur, it’s important to stay calm and assess your options. Different situations have different solutions, so here are a few examples.

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Divorce

Even if a separation is amicable, making it official is costly, and emotionally draining. But once everything has been divided, and you are certain about what is yours, you need to reestablish credit in your own name. First, ward off any potential credit problems by getting rid of all joint accounts you had with your former spouse, and build up your new credit by making sure to pay all your bills on time. If you don’t have a lot of credit in your own name, try building it up by applying for a secured credit card, which requires you to pay cash upfront for a credit line.

Find out where you stand financially by getting reports from the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — via the government-mandated site, AnnualCreditReport.com. If you spot any credit errors, write to your creditors or the credit bureaus and dispute any mistakes.

Debt

Having a lot of debt is probably nothing new to a Millennial, but that doesn’t make it any easier for anyone to live with it. Fortunately, if you’re patient and you stick to a thought-out plan, you could eventually free yourself from the grip of debt. Ask yourself the following questions to assess your situation:

  • What are your remaining assets?
  • How much money do you owe?
  • How much income do you bring in each month?
  • How much do you spend?
  • What is your credit score?
  • Are they any long term implications to the financial disaster (alimony, health issues, I.R.S. liens) that must be included in your recovery plan?

Once you’re familiar with your situation, you can begin to make a realistic repayment plan. If you need some help with this, get in touch with a money mentor who can point out other solutions. T may also be a good idea to set aside some emergency funds in case another setback occurs while you’re making progress with your repayments. Even if it takes you years, you can use these steps to free yourself from debt.

Medical Bills

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Medical problems can come in a variety of forms. If you work as a self-employed freelancer, or in hospitality, taking a few days off sick can set you back in shifts and leave you short of your rent for a month. More serious injuries and illnesses that lead to hospital stays will certainly lead to unexpected bills.

Recovering from these bills will put a strain on your finances for a while, but if you tighten your belt and employ the same steps you use to recover from debt, there’s a good chance your finances, and your health, will recover. Sometimes it helps to reach out to your bank and asking for a short reprieve. If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no.

If you have an ongoing illness or handicap, and feel you need more aid to recover financially, you could find a disability lawyer to help explain your options.

Unexpected Job Situation

Jobs aren’t as dependable as they once were. Sometimes you chose to leave your job, and you have emergency funds in place while you job hunt. Other times, you find yourself without a job, just when you’re starting to get your finances back into order.

If you’re in the latter situation, you really have no time to wallow in your disappointment. Clarify with your soon-to-be-former employer, how much longer you will be staying on, and if you will be paid for the time you are still an employee. Once you know how much longer you will have money coming in, spend your free time sorting out your resume and securing references. In this case, the best way to financially recover from losing your job is to make sure you get another one lined up as quickly as possible.

Bankruptcy

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Nothing feels quite as shameful and humiliating as having to declare bankruptcy. There is a horrible stigma attached to declaring bankruptcy, as though you were solely to blame for not paying your bills on time. But unfortunately, despite our best efforts, sometimes it’s impossible to pay off your debts. You’re not alone. A May 2011 survey from FindLaw.com indicated that one in eight adults in the U.S. — about 13 percent of the population — say they’ve contemplated bankruptcy.

However, instead of wallowing in feelings of failure and disappointment, you need to start looking into how you can turn your situation around. As difficult as it may be, you have to look at your situation objectively in order to identify what led you to this point. Only by understanding how you got here, can you begin to make an effective plan to recover from bankruptcy. Set a budget and stick to it, avoid payday loans, find a way to rebuild your credit, and be sure to monitor your credit reports regularly.

Foreclosure

Between 2007 and 2011, a record number of homeowners went through foreclosure, and there are currently 798,495 properties in the US that are in some state of foreclosure. If you’ve recently lost your home, you’ve probably gone through most of your savings. Once you’re set up someone, either with family or in rented accommodation, the best way to recover from foreclosure is to rebuild your savings by creating a ‘rainy day’ fund. Even if you’re happy to be renting for the rest of your life, having an emergency savings account can go a long way to helping you gain back some financial stability in case of other setback.

Frequently Asked Questions: Home Buying

There really is a lot going on when we move home. From money changing hands to a full on moving process. It’s a process that brings up a lot of questions. Let’s break down some of the most common questions that are asked when moving home!

1 – How Do I Get A Mortgage?

Well, you need to go to the bank. A mortgage is a loan given to the buyer by the bank so that the buyer can purchase the property from the seller and then pay the bank back. Mortgages are usually paid back over a long term period. To gain access to a larger loan from the bank, you’ll have to pay a bigger deposit, just so the larger amount of money is at least secured in some way. There are plenty of different mortgage providers, so you can shop around. But why would you want to shop around? Aren’t they all just the same? Not really, each lender will add a different amount of interest on top of the repayments, meaning the same loan could be made more expensive.

2 – What Happens If I Don’t Pay Back The Mortgage?

If you don’t pay back the mortgage, your house will be repossessed by the bank. This is because the house is what you have borrowed against to achieve the mortgage in the first place. You’ll also lose your deposit. This isn’t an instant process, but it will be put in action within thirty days of a missed mortgage payment. Within ninety days the bank will have started the foreclosure process, which would be their attempt to repossess the house. This can lead to the bank auctioning off the site to reclaim the money. There are plenty of ways around this – just try to make back the payments. You could also try to sell the house.

3 – What Happens If I Can’t Meet Mortgage Payments?

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Refusing to pay a mortgage and not being able to pay are two different things. If you know that you won’t meet your monthly payment, you need to let the lender know. In almost all cases, a lender would rather you work to meet payments. It means they don’t take a loss on their investment in you. You could switch to simply pay the interest on your mortgage to lower the cost, or work out a new plan. In many cases, help is available for you to seek if you know you won’t be able to meet payments.

4 – Is Buying A Home Better Than Renting A Home?

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Some people rent, some people buy. Many people would say that renting is ‘dead money’ – your cash isn’t going anywhere. However, some people can’t afford to buy, or they might not be ready for the responsibilities that come with home ownership.

When is renting better than home ownership? Well, it’s circumstantial. If you are always on the move – renting might be better. If you don’t want to dive into the world of home maintenance, renting is better. The ‘dead money’ argument, for the most part, is true. Buying homes are solid investments, but a lot of the monthly costs involved with home ownership don’t go towards paying off the mortgage – insurance, tax, energy bills. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that dead money isn’t involved with a mortgage.

What’s more, interest rates are pretty low – meaning that in most cases, a mortgage might be cheaper than renting. This depends on your down payment as well, though.

5 – How Do I Handle The Legal Side?

This is where things get difficult. There are a lot of legal documents and papers that need to be filed when buying a home. While a keen legal eye might get far, it is worth leaving the job to experienced agencies in the field, like www.tbw.uk.com/conveyancing-law/property-lawyers-solicitors-bexleyheath.html who can handle a number of things. These agencies deal with areas such as declaring property boundaries, neighbour disputes, the fixtures included with the sale, building permissions, guarantees, regulation certificates, validate the owner of the property, register the site and much more. Of course, these can be handled by yourself, but it is worth hiring legal help. There are a lot of pitfalls associated with home ownership.

These cover the basic areas of buying a new home and should be more than enough to get you started with your interests. There are a number of areas to branch off into as well – such as researching down payments, mortgages and of course, the complex legal side of home ownership as well.

 

The Wrong Fairy Tales: Ignore These Mortgage Myths!

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Very few people are able to buy a house outright. Some people will try to make the argument that this is a problem unique to our financially-troubled times, but the truth is that we’ve rarely not lived in “financially-troubled” times where a lot of people were able to buy homes without assistance from some institution.

Banks and other lenders have been pulling the financial strings of the vast majority of homeownership for a long time, and it will probably continue to be that way for a long time yet. The fact is that, unless you’re pretty darn wealthy, you’re going to need financial assistance to get a home. Heck, even the wealthy need the assistance at times, when you consider modern house prices.

Getting a mortgage is, in all likelihood, how you’re going to get your own home. So it’s important that you’re not falling for any myths about mortgages! Here are some of the most common.

A pre-approved loan is a sure thing

Yes, you should definitely get a mortgage pre-approved before you start shopping for property. But this doesn’t mean that a pre-approved mortgage is the same thing as a mortgage! However, once you’ve made an offer on the place, the lender is going to double-check everything. After all, things may have changed between that pre-approval and the final approval. Remember that prefix: pre-approval. It’s not total approval just yet!

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A high income is all that matters

Let’s say you’ve got one person earning $100,000 a year and another that earns $50,000 a year. The first one is going to get the best mortgage rate, right? Well, not necessarily. There are a lot of factors to consider. Ms $100,000 may also be paying about $60,000 in debt every year, whereas Ms $50,000 is only paying maybe $3000 in debt. The latter has a healthier cash flow, so has the upper hand! Another thing to consider is the type of work you do. Ms $50,000 may be a scientist with a steady career ladder ahead. Ms $100,000 may be a self-employed freelancer who could potentially earn much less in the following year!

Your credit needs to be spotless

It’s true that a good credit score is highly desirable if you want a mortgage. But you’re not expected to have a perfect score. But if you have a middling score – and many people do! – then it’s not exactly a deal breaker. In general, a few blemishes won’t hurt you overall as long as you have a steady income and pay your bills.

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You need to have 20% saved for a down payment

20% is the amount that always gets thrown around when it comes to saving up money for a down payment on a home. And, yes, that is the best minimum to have if you want the best mortgage rates. But it’s not necessary – after all, that 20% is usually quite a lot of money. There are a lot of good institutions who will give you a mortgage with a down payment of about 5%, for example. Don’t assume you’re doomed if you haven’t saved that magical amount of 20% just yet!

The Modern Investments

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Since the global crash in 2008, the wealthy have been looking for new places to invest their money. Banks seemed like a safe option but for the super rich, they became a worry zone, this was because most banks would only guarantee the safety of set limits of cash. So if you had 500k sitting in the bank and the bank went bust, you would only get 75k of your money back.

Ok, so most of us aren’t sitting around with half a million dollars in the bank. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t draw some inspiration from the High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and invest some of our money into the trends they are setting.

Property is always a good place to stash your cash. Firstly you have a tangible asset, something that might lose money but will, at some point make money. You are far more likely to break even over a few decades than end up with a loss. So this could be seen as a safer bet than your bank. The interest rate on savings at most banks is rubbish. Investing money in property and renting it out could see you making a far better return than you were in your savings account. There are two safe options for investing into a property. One is to find any new houses for sale, especially ones which are being built in areas that aren’t currently fashionable. If you find out information about any potential projects in this neighborhood, you may see that house prices will go up. Eg, if there is a new school or business applying for application. This could push up home prices. The other option is to go old. Look for the worst house on the best street, invest a little time and money into doing it up, then sell it.

Another great alternative investment has been the classic car market. You need to stay ahead of the game here, making smart purchases before the rest of the world cotton on. For making smart purchases before the rest of the world cotton on. For example, the BMW Z3 is a cute little car which is set to be a future classic. You can pick one up for a few thousand dollars, in fact, you can find them for under 1000 dollars, you can then invest a little time and love into restoring it, and in 5 years time, you could have a car worth 15,000 dollars.

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What about investing in wine, companies like Woolfsung have been advising HNWI on the wine investment sector. Here the idea is that you buy up predicted good years and then stash them away in a cellar for ten years. Most vineyards have a pattern when it comes to years so experts can predict which will be good. Of course, there is always the risk that you may get it wrong, or that you haven’t stored it the right way. Then the wine will be ruined, and you lose the investment.

Check out what the elite pack is investing their money in and see if you can replicate it on a smaller level. You never know, your horse might come in.