5 Ways to Save $531 Every Month

Saving


Your budget is bulging at the seams. You know there’s got to be a better way to budget, leave some room for an indulgence or two and save money. There is a way. Take the reins of your financial situation, treat yourself and potentially pocket $500 a month in savings.

1. Consolidate Unsecured Debt into One Lower Monthly Payment

Credit cards are an example of unsecured debt, and quite often, the most frequently cited reason for overwhelming monthly debt expense. If your monthly credit card payments are straining your budget to the bursting point, explore consolidation. The average household carries two to five cards and spends approximately $650 per month making payments. Consolidate those cards and reduce your monthly expense by $225-$325.

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2. Refinance Auto Loans

A monthly car payment follows as a close second to your monthly rent or mortgage payment. It can be one of your biggest budget busters! Financing options for automobiles range between 48 to 72 months. Examine your current loan. It might be possible to refinance from a 48-month term to a longer period of 72 months and reduce the payment up to 50 percent! You could potentially save yourself several hundred dollars each month.

3. Re-Evaluate Auto (and Other) Insurance Needs

Life today is filled with all sorts of insurance requirements and needs. Medical, auto, life, home – and insurance is one of the most neglected areas of our lives when it comes to assessing for savings. As a general rule, we should evaluate our insurance needs on a yearly basis because of life changes that occur over time, e.g. marriage, divorce, etc.. That yearly review could net you 25-percent savings on insurance expense. So, if you’re currently spending $2,000 a year on all your insurance coverages, it could mean an extra $500 in your pocket each and every month.

4. Opt-In for Student Loan Consolidation

Student loans are big business. The average college graduate is carrying $30,000 in debt. Quite often, the debt is spread over three to five loans, with payments totaling more than 35 percent of the borrower’s monthly income. If you are one of the more than 1.3 million graduates struggling with monthly student loan payments, you should consider loan consolidation. There are federal as well as private options that allow you to consolidate into a single loan option with one monthly payment. Federal programs will also allow you to choose an option based on your monthly income; if you’re just starting your career and your monthly income is at a lifetime low, this option could reduce your payment to a much lower level. With three to five loans, you could be paying as much as $400 each month; consolidated, the monthly payment would be closer to $250 per month. You could realize a monthly savings of over $150!

Did you know that there are actually companies out there that specialize in consolidating your loans insanely quickly and efficiently?  Used by millions…Click here to find out more.

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5. Explore a Credit Repair Option

Quite often, bulging (or completely busted) budgets lead us down the dangerous path of poor credit. Missed payments, late payments and loans that are in default contribute to declining credit scores. As a result, obtaining new credit becomes more difficult, and if approved, it comes with a higher interest rate. Proactively working to repair your credit file really does save you money, it’s just that it doesn’t happen overnight. However, if you realized any savings from the options presented above, you can, with persistence, improve your credit score. Begin to make payments that are more than the minimum, make payments early and strive to reduce the amount of debt that you carry. All of these steps work to improve your credit score, and an improved credit score opens doors to better credit options.
So what are you waiting on? Get up off the couch, explore all the options in this article and watch the expenses shrink, the budget improve and your savings grow! All while you sip that special latte!

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10 Easy Ways to Keep More Money in Your Pocket

Saving


When you’re already living paycheck to paycheck, it can seem impossible to save money. The usual sites offering financial advice aren’t too useful either with their suggestions for better stock investments and squirreling away hundreds of bucks a month. Well, we’re here to help with a few of our favorite tips you can actually use. They won’t make you rich, but they’ll help you stretch your dollar a little bit further and give you some breathing room.

1. Student Loan Consolidation

If you have multiple student loans from different years, reach out to your lender or one that specializes in refinancing and consolidate them into one. You’ll usually get a lower interest rate that will allow you to pay down debt faster.

2. Credit Card Debt Consolidation

Look around for a new credit card with a balance transfer promotion of 0 percent or very low interest for a set amount of time. Transfer all or part of a balance from your highest APR card and pay it off. Just be sure to transfer only what you know you can pay off before the promotional period ends.

3. Get a Card with a Lower APR

Get a credit card with the lowest APR possible. Whatever you do, don’t get behind on it; that can trigger late fees and a penalty APR that could even affect your card rates with other lenders.

4. Repair Your Credit

The better shape your credit report is in, the better credit card terms you can expect. This means lower rates, higher credit limits and sometimes extra perks like cash back. If your credit could use some help, look into a credit repair program to help get your credit back on track.

5. Reduce Health Insurance Costs

Generally speaking, the healthier you are, the less expensive you are to insure. Doing things like stopping smoking and drinking and losing weight make you a better bet for insurance companies. Make sure your progress is noted in your annual physical and then contact your insurer for a review.

6. Reduce Car Insurance Costs

The safer you drive, the better your insurance rates will be. If it’s been a while since your last accident or traffic violation, contact your insurance provider to negotiate a better rate.

7. Refinance Your Car Loan

If you’re still making payments on a car you bought when your credit was worse, contact your lender to ask about refinancing your loan at a lower APR. If they won’t play ball, threaten to refinance through another bank. If that doesn’t work, take your business elsewhere.

8. Buy a New Car

Let’s say you’re not actually making car payments. Instead, you own a beater you’re dragging into the shop every week. It sounds counterintuitive, but you might look into buying a brand-new car. Not only will you have a much more reliable ride, but new cars will stay under warranty for a number of years, meaning less money you have to shell out for repairs and routine maintenance.

9. Get a Prepaid Phone

Traditional cell phone contracts often include all sorts of unnecessary extras you never use, so why are you paying for them? Prepaid service is just as reliable and often much cheaper than a contract. You do have to pay for the phone upfront instead of getting it free with a new contract, but you’ll save money in the long run by only paying for the services you actually need and use.

10. Cut the Cable

You’re paying a premium for all those cable channels that never show anything you want to see. Well, it’s time to break up with your cable company. You can keep it for internet service, but cut out the TV subscription. Sign up for online streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and others to watch what you want at a fraction of the cost of a monthly TV cable bill.

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10 Quick Ways to Save Money Each Month

Saving


Getting into debt seems like it is something that is easy to do. When you try to get out of debt, that is when the real work starts. Here are 10 ideas to help you reduce your expenses when it is time to take control of your finances.

1. Consolidate your debt into a lower monthly payment

Consolidating your debts into a lower monthly payment can save you money. Instead of having to try to pay multiple payments, everything that you include in the consolidated payment will be paid with one convenient monthly payment. In most cases, this can help you score a lower interest rate than what you would pay on individual bills.

2. Refinance your car loan

A refinanced car loan starts out at a lower amount than a new car loan. This can automatically lower your monthly payments, especially if you are able to extend the life of the loan some.

3. Lower your auto insurance payment

Take a look at the car insurance payment you are making. You might be able to increase the deductible or decrease the coverage to lower the payments. Shopping around for car insurance might also be beneficial.

4. Consolidate your student loans into a lower monthly payment

If you have multiple student loans, you can likely get them all transferred into one monthly payment. Some federal repayment plans are based on your income so this might help you out if you are at a lower income rate.

5. Enter into a credit repair program

A credit repair program is a good idea if you have already missed some payments. These programs can often help you to get a lower interest rate, especially if your debt is at a high-interest rate, such as 25 percent or higher. You should make sure that you are working with is a legitimate company by checking with the Better Business Bureau and other agencies.

6. Lower your health insurance costs

If you don’t have any health issues, lowering your health insurance costs can help you to save money each month. Get a policy that has a higher deductible or one that has only basic services covered. This isn’t a good idea if you have health issues since you might end up with uncontrollable medical debt.

7. Buy a new car

Car repair bills can get expensive. If you are spending more on repair bills than you care to admit, it might be time to get a new car. This might seem more expensive at first; however, you might find that a car payment is less expensive. Plus, you will have a more reliable way to get to work and run errands.

8. Get a payday loan advance

A payday loan should be one of the last things that you consider if you need to come up with money fast. These loans often come at a higher interest rate, so carefully consider your other options. Of course, if you have an emergency, this might be a feasible option for quick cash if you know you’ll be able to repay it quickly.

9. Get a new credit card with a lower interest rate

A new credit card might seem counterproductive when you are trying to reduce your monthly bills, but it really isn’t. Many new credit cards have a 0-percent interest rate during the introductory period or for balance transfers. This fact alone might be able to save you some serious cash each month.

10. Reduce your employment costs

They say you have to spend money to make money, but you shouldn’t have high employment costs when you are working for someone else. Reducing the costs of your job can entail bringing your lunch instead of eating out and hitting up second-hand clothing stores for things to wear. If you need transportation to work, see if a co-worker will get you instead of shelling out money for transportation costs.

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The Plight Of The Middle Class And How Credit Repair Can Help

Credit & Debt Settlement

*This is an advertorial*

Life can be filled with limitations when you have bad credit, and I recently learned how to screw and un-screw myself out of credit nightmare. Putting everything on a charge card turned out to be a terrible decision, and when the government threatened to start garnishing my wages, I was forced to pool everything I had to make a one time payoff on one of my student loans, which actually had a negative impact on my score because I settled. I was bankrupt and I was just starting out. As my score dropped, the banks sent cancellation notices for all of my credit cards—even the ones I always paid on time. It seemed like big banks had just turned their back on me.

My husband was forced to face his credit barriers when his car transmission died out of warrantee. When the car salesman pulled his credit to see if he could get approved for a lease, he shook his head in shame. It showed a score in the low 500s, a high debt to credit ratio, and poor payment history because of medical bill charge-offs from when his appendix ruptured. 

We needed better credit, which I thought meant waiting 7-10 years for negative items to be removed. As it turned out, fixing our credit was painless because there are services out there, like CreditRepair.com, that are meant for people like us. CreditRepair.com works directly with the credit bureaus and your creditors to help you get unfair items removed from your report and get you back on track for a clean financial future. They understand that life can get out of hand, and that sometimes, trustworthy candidates can get screwed out of good credit scores in the process. Plus, they do all the legwork for you.

I signed up for CreditRepair.com just two months ago. On my consultation call, Skye, my personal CreditRepair.com representative, worked with me through the process, answering my questions with patience and knowledge. She made me feel confident that together we could accomplish everything I’d sought out to achieve. She explained that for most items she saw on my report, they would send their lawyerly “challenge letters”, to which creditors have to respond or refute, or the items get removed. CreditRepair.com has methods of getting creditors to exercise leniency as well. For example, if you have issues with high student loans, bankruptcy, an expensive divorce, or high medical bills, Credit Repair will alert creditors of this as they did when they mentioned my outstanding student loans in challenge letters so that creditors would potentially give me more leeway.

During just the first month of my subscription, I received my frist 3 removal emails from CreditRepair.com! (It means they got 3 negative items removed from my report.) My credit score shot up 22 points immediately as a result, and continues to climb as I follow along on my Score Tracker, the chart which displays your credit score progress each month.

As for my husband, he started receiving removal emails from CreditRepair.com just two days after I did, and within just the first 45 days of his membership, CreditRepair.com had already gotten 44% of the negative items on his report removed. And he got approved for that car lease from the dealership that scoffed at him less than two months prior! Incredible, and fast results.

Turns out, this is the norm. While individual experiences may vary, on average, CreditRepair.com subscribers see increases in their credit scores month after month. And it’s been giving us the fresh start we need to rebuild our future.

Update: The folks at CreditRepair.com are extending a special offer to our readers. Follow this link, or call 1 (855) 969-4469 for a free credit consultation including your free credit report summary and score!

Call 1 (855) 969-4469 anytime between 7am and 11:59pm EST for a free consultation including your free summary credit report and score!

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Why Consider a Personal Loan

Personal Loans

Would you like to consolidate your credit cards, pay your taxes, or finance an unexpected expense? You might be able to qualify for a personal loan from a bank or other financial institution.

The Basics of Personal Loans

These are the basic things to know about personal loans:

  • They are usually offered in amounts from $500 to over $50,0000, depending upon need, income, and credit history.
  • As with all other loans, good credit helps, but some lenders are willing to offer loans to people who have had some challenges or haven’t had a chance to build much of a credit history.
  • These are unsecured loans, so they don’t require putting up any property to secure them.

As with almost any other type of loan, good credit helps people qualify for a larger loan and lower interest rates. According to NerdWallet, a credit union or P2P lending site may offer the lowest interest rates to people who don’t have great credit. Alternatives to personal loans may include secured loans, like home equity loans, or even introductory offers on credit cards with a low or even 0% interest rate.

However, people who can qualify for a personal loan might find that they are relatively hassle free and better for their own situation. For example, some borrowers might not have home equity to borrow against. Others may not care to apply for another credit card because they are trying to get credit cards paid off or consolidated.

What’s Needed to Apply for a Personal Loan?

To apply for a personal loan, you’ll typically need to supply your lender with these things:

  • Identification: You’ll need to provide the lender with an official ID and proof of residence. You’ll also probably need to give them information that they need to run a credit check.
  • Income verification: You might need to prove your income with paycheck stubs or past tax returns.
  • Financial verification: For larger loans, you might have to prepare a statement that includes your current expenses, debt, and so on.

Cautions for Shopping for Personal Loans

It’s important for prospective borrowers to pay attention to the terms of their loans. For example, some lenders may charge modest interest rates that are comparable to regular credit cards, but some may charge interest rates that are so high that they really don’t make these loans a sensible option. Of course, people with poor credit are most likely to get offered the highest interest rates.

Besides the interest rate, these are some things to watch out for:

  • Pre-payment penalties: If you want to pay your personal loan off early, some creditors may slap you with a pre-payment penalty.
  • Late-payment penalties: Some lenders may slap you with a large fee if you miss a payment, and they might even increase your interest rate.
  • Overdrafts: Some lenders will want to automatically debit your payments, so it’s important to be sure you have enough money in your account to cover it to avoid an accidental overdraft on your checking account.
  • Scam artists: The terms of some of these loans are so terrible that they may make getting out of debt almost impossible, so check out your lender with the FTC and BBB to learn about other borrower’s experiences.

Get Help Comparing Quality Personal Loan Providers

If you need a personal loan, FinancialHelpers.com is here to help. Compare interest rates and terms from multiple lenders to get the best possible deal before you decide to sign any contracts.

SEE IF YOU QUALIFY NOW »

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