Finance Classic - Financial News: October 2007

Make a budget plan in minutes

Posted on 7:09 PM No Comments

Sometimes it is a bit time consuming to make a huge budget, so why don’t we think about a short time budget which is less time consuming. There are several ways to save money with a proper budget plan. Let’s make it within few minutes:

1) We spend a huge amount of money for the payment of grocery bill and purchasing different food items. If you are a bit conscious about this area, you can save a lot at the end of the month. Examine your food cost first and try to cut out some unnecessary particles from it. We need three time’s heavy food and twice coffee with some snacks. But it can be found that sometimes we eat lot more than that. So if we can cut out those from the daily routine then a lot of money can be saved at the end of the month. There is another area where we spend a lot; it is in the time of shopping. We generally don’t have a list of our necessary things, that’s why we end up in purchasing a lot of unnecessary things. So make a list before going to a shop.

2) Home expenses are another part where a planned budget can save you lot of money. An important spending part is phone bill. Combine your cell phone and landlines with one provider; you can get some discount there. Call your cell phone company regularly for better plan. You can get better money saving plan. You can have look at your cable bills as well. You don’t see all the channels in the cable. Cut out some channels you hardly see. If you have some mortgage loan or student loan then you can give the creditors a call for better interest saving plan.

3) Combine all your insurance policies with one carrier. It includes your life, auto, homeowners, medical, pet insurance etc. For combining all these insurance you should get some discount. If you don’t get any discount in your current company then try some other company who is agree to give you discount.

What should I do, bankruptcy or credit counseling?

Posted on 11:50 AM No Comments

Both bankruptcy and credit counseling are two different ways of making relieve the stress of debt. So you need to understand the difference between the two clearly before making any decision because any wrong decision can make your financial condition worse.

Those who are having problem in debt and can’t find the way out, credit counseling program will help them to get the solution by giving important suggestions. Certified credit counselor will make suitable plan to deal with different debt for different person’s financial position. They often provide services for free and try to educate you how to come out of bad financial conditions with proper plan. They also take classes or seminars on debt management. Credit counseling program don’t erase debt but it makes plan to deal with debt. This program allows people to reestablish their credit.

On the other hand bankruptcy is completely different concept. It will allow you to erase your debt in most of the times. Bankruptcy 7 and 13 are most popular chapters regarding this. If you want to file bankruptcy then you have to go either for chapter 7 or chapter13 but it is not up to you to select the chapter, your financial condition will tell it. Before taking any final decision you must go through the articles which will tell you all possible problems that you can face in future if you file bankruptcy. You can’t build your credit for 10 years from the date of filing bankruptcy. Bankruptcy may give you instant relief from the harassment of collection agency and creditors but the effect of it can be observed in future. Filing bankruptcy is also very expensive compared to credit counseling.

So take your time before making any important decision which is related to your future. Think which is important to you right now, instant relief or relief steadily in long run.

Foreclosures: Tips and Warnings

Posted on 2:26 PM No Comments

First of all, you need to be aware that a mortgage lender can foreclose your home for two reasons. The first one is defaulting on your payments. Generally, lenders will issue a Notice of Default if you miss three mortgage payments consecutively. Another possible ground for foreclosure would be a violation on a major regulation or policy of the lender.

What You Can Do

However, in most cases, the reason for a home foreclosure is due to a default in payments. For some home owners, they waited too long before taking any appropriate action that would have prevented foreclosure of their property. If you currently have a mortgage loan, it is important to be constantly aware of your payments. If for some reason, you miss one of your payments, speak with your lender right away and inform them the cause of your delay. Don’t wait until the second or third delay on your payment or for a Notice of Default before taking the initiative to contact your lender.

Even if it’s just a single payment that you missed, it would be to your advantage if you talk with your lender right away. This is especially true if you know that there is risk that you might not keep up with your monthly mortgage for the coming months. You may have been sick and cannot go to work, or you might have needed the money for an emergency or you might have been laid off from work. In case, it will not help if you just stay quiet or attempt to hide from your creditors.

For many people, receiving a Notice of Foreclosure is the end of everything. But this is not true. You will still be given some time before the actual foreclosure takes place. What many people do not know, is that banks and lenders are not too happy about foreclosing properties. Putting up a property on sale involves lots of work, time and money to get things done. If you speak with your lender, they would be more willing to extend you the time you need to make your repayment.

Foreclosure Options

Mortgage lenders have made provisions for cases of pre-foreclosure properties. They can waive some of your penalty fees to help you repay your unpaid mortgage more easily or what is commonly called Forbearance. They can also give you an extended time period so you can find enough money to repay your dues or what is known as Reinstatement. A mortgage company can also enable you to refinance your existing mortgage loan without the need to go through the whole process of re-application. This is known as Loan Modification which means you can be granted a new loan without the need to wait for an approval or processing.

With these provisions in mind, it would buy you more time if you talk to your lender as early as possible. This way, your lender can also have sufficient time to make the needed adjustments on your mortgage terms. If you decide to wait until they have already filed foreclosure, it will only be more difficult for you to request for adjustments.

About the Author

Liz Roberts is a loan consultant with Loan Hunt Finance and has been providing consumers and business owners with home loans financing since 1989. For years she has helped people with home loan problems especially pertaining to home mortgage loans and bad credit home loans. Copyright 2007

Evaluating Bankruptcy Filing Cost

Posted on 1:55 PM No Comments

Are you planning to file for bankruptcy? Then you must keep several things into your consideration. One of them is the cost of filing bankruptcy. You are going to file bankruptcy because your financial condition is not good enough to pay your creditors. But how much you aware about the cost of bankruptcy? You must remember that entire bankruptcy procedure is a bit expensive and you may not afford it. That’s why you should evaluate the possible cost beforehand.

Attorney Fee:

Most of us are not aware of various bankruptcy laws and rules because bankruptcy laws are very complicated and hard to understand. Therefore to deal with bankruptcy cases you need to hire a bankruptcy attorney. None of them will allow their service in free, they will charge high amount as attorney fee. The fee may cross even thousands of dollars. So, before filing bankruptcy you should think about this cost.

Bankruptcy Filing Fee:

Bankruptcy filing fee is another major expense that you need to consider. Bankruptcy filing rate has been increased tremendously for the last few years, and one of the reason is that of the newly added bankruptcy laws. Bankruptcy filing cost was few dollars earlier but now a day you may have to consider hundreds of dollars for it.

Other Cost:

There may be some other expenses like, suppose you have filed chapter 7 bankruptcy but later you find that you do not qualify for it and you have to file for chapter 13 again. Here comes the cost of conversion.

Above all costs you must remember that bankruptcy report will show in you credit report for the next 8 years. This will effect your future financial planning. So think more than once when you go for bankruptcy filing.