Archive for August, 2008

learn personal finance budgeting

Posted in Budgeting on August 30th, 2008

Our CFO where I work volunteered to teach classes about personal finance budgeting to anybody who wanted to attend. The classes were held over the lunch hour in our presentation center which has an over head projector, a loud speaker system and stadium style classroom set-up. It is arranged just like a college classroom. Anyhow, it was so surprising how many employees took advantage of his offer. There must have been almost half of the workers in attendance. This was an ongoing weekly class. He even offered to work with us one on one and with confidentiality. He did this with the company’s blessing, and he did not charge us a cent.

Finance Who Controls The Purse Strings

Posted in Finances on August 29th, 2008

Now there’s a really loaded question. Who controls the purse strings? If you both do, bravo for you! Chances are though it’s either the male or the female who takes care of the money, pays the bills, does the shopping, does the budgeting and keep the books. Well really you had a 50/50 chance of getting that right didn’t you? Okay going out on a limb here - most females handle the money even though the first thing they would buy is cheap clip hair extensions that make their hair look gorgeous.

Bet I’m going to get flamed on that one. That’s ok; I’m just speaking from personal experience I’ve witnessed. There are plenty of guys who handle the funds too. My only point was if there isn’t any real equity in how the money is handled and shared; a relationship is going to have a rough time surviving. Money is one of the most contentious issues next to adultery. No wonder people try NOT to talk about it.

The Need of Bankruptcy Lawyers

Posted in Bankruptcy on August 29th, 2008

Anyone contemplating applying for bankruptcy should first employ the services of a professional bankruptcy attorney; their assistance may ease some of the stress during this awkward period. Whilst filing for bankruptcy requires a little more work and preparation than it did before the changes in law, most of that work will fall on your attorney to complete. Although the amendments to the bankruptcy law are designed to eliminate the time wasters, no other real changes have been made. Once debtors have overcome this hurdle they should be able to proceed as normal.

Insolvency laws in the United States have a certain bankruptcy protection built in, whereby the individual filing for bankruptcy will not, under most circumstances, lose his or her home. Other exclusions are incorporated into the law so that personal possessions, items needed for work, furniture and the family automobile are protected from creditors. This way the person can still go to work.

Of course, some States have made additions to the federal law and this is where your bankruptcy lawyer will be of more assistance if you want to retain the possessions to which you are entitled. The Insolvency law is designed to protect certain things like your house and car. This enables individuals filing for bankruptcy to live and work. There are exceptions if high value items are available that can be used to help clear debts.

Of course once you are declared bankrupt the information will be added to your personal credit file for ten years although this is not as bad as it seems at first. This is not the problem that it may at first appear as most of the scoring for your credit is taken from the more recent credit transactions. What this means is that within a relatively short space of time after you become bankrupt you will start receiving credit applications but at this stage you must be very careful.

Hopefully before this situation occurs your bankruptcy lawyer will warn you about certain credit companies that add on huge fees and increased interest rates. This would make repaying a loan problematic and may land you in further financial difficulties. Your attorney will be able to advise you on reputable companies but whatever your credit agreements are, you will do your credit rating a great deal of good if you ensure that you always pay more than the minimum required.

For careful individuals, this credit rebuild can be as little as two to four years providing everything is kept up to date. Your bankruptcy will still appear on your credit record for the full ten years but it should not cause you problems if you decide to buy a house, car or arrange another unsecured loan.

There is now and probably always will be a stigma to bankruptcy. The credit industry quietly fuels this notion as it makes people reluctant to pursue bankruptcy. This belief also makes it easier to get support for legislation that will make it harder for people to become insolvent. However, your bankruptcy attorney will say that the vast majority people who file for bankruptcy protection are honest, hard working people who have just fallen on hard times.

Grow Your Profits with Growing Stocks

Posted in Stocks and Bonds on August 28th, 2008

Penny stocks are not the only stock picks we have, our investor newsletter also has growth stocks, medium and long term investments to meet the needs of every trader. Our focus is to please our investors by helping in penny stock investing that’s why we continue to pick winning penny stocks each week. Penny stocks are typically not covered by analyst. As a result, penny stock companies have to rely on heavy promotional campaigns to get the word out about their stock. Penny stocks are speculative securities of very small companies, priced below $5, and generally trade over-the-counter, such as on the OTC Bulletin Board or in the Pink Sheets. Penny stocks may also trade on securities exchanges, including foreign securities exchanges.

For more information on making it big with stock investing visit penny stocks trading.

Working Through A Bad Credit Score

Posted in Budgeting on August 27th, 2008

When you are in debt the sad thing is that sometimes the only way out of it is to take out another loan, of course there is always the sting in the tail though.

The problem is when you need a loan, you know they are going to be looking at your credit. If you are frowning as you read this, you know your credit report is not what you want it to be, and you also know that there is something you should be doing about it.

Your problem may be that you don’t know what to do. Many people have no idea how to fix their credit, though some ways are simply common sense. Above paying your current bills on time, what do you need to know to repair credit score?

The first step to repair your credit score is to know what it is and to understand why yours may be lower than what you want it to be. Paying your bills late can affect your score, and having charge offs can be ever worse.

See the bright side of this though. Take this as a lesson to show you the importance of servicing your loans and debts in a timely manner. Also use this as a time to step back and evaluate your life style. Do you really need to take out another loan and get into more debt?

Some times there is a painful answer like selling the Jeep and buying a runner, but the long term gains are immense if you plan properly as you can use the funds to clear your debt and credit rating, or if it were on finance use the spare cash to settle some of your other debt thereby giving yourself a firmer financial footing.